Pillars of Magic: Paradox
by Terepin
Summary: Following the events of "The Hidden Truth", the universe as everyone knew it has changed. Mewni is now a large, metropolitan utopia and home to the advanced wielders of magic-powered technology. Star Butterfly and many of those she once knew are different people who know nothing of the reality that once was. Follows Star as she attempts to reclaim her past.
1. A History Lesson

Mewni's morning began as countless others had before it. The sky was a vibrant shade of blue with hardly any clouds dotting its canvas, the birds were chattering back and forth to each other between the leaves of lush trees, and the people of the city were going about their daily rituals with the same monotonous rhythm that took them to and from work or school, same as any other weekday.

But the morning had only merely started the same as any other. All of its generic, charming tedium was broken by the shrill sounds of ambulances carrying with them their multi-color swirling lights. The birds bolted from the trees as the calm was shattered; people in the streets began to shout. Alarm sirens were ringing and teenagers were screaming. A pool of people flooded out of a school going every which way, not knowing where to flee, only that the light was blinding and fear compelled them to keep moving as quickly as possible in whatever direction they could.

The police first on the scene tried to corral the students as best they could away from the building, though they weren't yet organized. A special forces unit was immediately deployed inside the school, leaving the basic officers to handle the pandemonium outside. There had been an obvious explosion, tearing a chunk away from the front of the building. The smoke had billowed up to haze over the formerly pristine sky for a mile. Mewmans from the surrounding area drifted around the edges of the chaos, gasping and crying, unable to turn their eyes away yet unsure how to take in the scene unfolding before them.

More whistles filled the air as firemen arrived at the scene, along with a barrage of vehicles chauffeuring panicked parents who barely waited for the cars to stop before jumping out and rushing towards the disaster. First responders were immediately overwhelmed and called in for backup on their lapel communicators, trying to juggle between holding the parents back and getting the wounded to safety.

The entire scene was anarchy.

Out of the amassed crowd pushed a woman with straight black hair, so silky it fell down to her shoulders like ink. She wore a fancy suit and jacket and surveyed the area as she went, jostling between anxious parents and gawkers alike. The throng was trying to be held back by a single policeman, but he couldn't stop everyone from getting through and running towards the school, and couldn't stop her either. She dodged under his arm and a couple parents followed behind her, soon many more pushing back against the swamped officer.

"Hurry Buffy! We wanna get this shot before they get the restraint beams up!" She had called back to a large monster loosely resembling a top-heavy bullrog. He was carefully trying to get through the people with a large spherical device clamped atop his shoulder. It was roughly the size of an Earth basketball, covered in a puzzle-matrix of metallic components.

"Excuse me, pardon me," he kept saying as he unwittingly knocked into people to his left and right. Most of the mewmans only came up to his chest.

"Just get over here!"

He accidently stepped on the officer's foot with his own webbed one as he quickly jostled to get past.

"Aghh!" the officer shouted with a growl. "This area isn't secure! You're not permitted beyond this point!" The officer continued to rail but the monster was already making his way after the woman.

"Very sorry!" Buffrog shouted back.

There was little the officer could do to stop him, his arms too busy trying to hold back the crush of people bearing down on him, several more managing to get by.

Some students were still coming out of the building, tripping over the debris and pieces of wall, covered in cuts and abrasions. Several were covered so thickly by pallid dust there wasn't any color to their hair, skin, or clothes; and some remained completely untouched by it. They exited out side doors or even broken windows.

One student walked out the front of the school lobby, where the main blast had occurred, as if in a tranced daze. She didn't run like the others, nor did she seem remotely interested in doing so. She raised a hand to her eyes as the sunlight streaming through the smoke caused her to squint, all of the flashing lights and blaring cries of sirens and parents assaulting her senses all at once. There weren't any birds singing. Smoke and rolling colors blended together in a sickening fog all around. She didn't understand.

The woman had found what she had been looking for.

"Her! This way, Buffy! Let's get ready to go live!"

As quickly as possible the woman wearing the suit jacket got to the confused girl's side. Without touching her shoulder, she swept out an arm like a doting parent to direct her safely away from the rubble. Luckily, the wailing of an actual parent to get into the building served as an ideal distraction, allowing her to usher the girl away from the commotion. She looked back just once, seeing the officers stopping a distraught woman from continuing inside while they struggled to calm her down.

Then all at once along the perimeter of the school, restraint beams sparked to life between waist-high police poles they finally finished setting up, to secure the scene and keep everyone back. The beams were flat between the poles and glowed like red hot walls, only permitting badge-wearing officers and first responder personnel entry and exit.

The girl was in a blank stupor, heading wherever directed, her arms reaching up into her dusty teal hair aimlessly, touching and searching, her lower lip quivering. Her brown skin only showed through where her sweat and tears streaked away the light-colored grime.

The reporter did her best not to mess up her clean suit while she got the girl into position, careful not to touch her too much so no dirt would contact her finely pressed and expensive looking attire. She stood the girl just enough so that her back faced the commotion going on behind her.

"Gone…" the girl muttered as if to herself.

"What?" the reporter plucked half of a triangular-shaped object off her lapel that looked like a crystal pin, then pressed it onto the girl's shirt. "Hang on, not yet."

The large monster with the sphere atop his shoulder huffed as he finally got his footing across from them, wiping his brow as he stood before them both.

"I am ready," he said, tapping the sphere. The outer shell of the orb broke apart along the outer seams, revealing an inner camera device that glowed red. He took the orb off his shoulder and leveled it to his face in order to peer through it, making sure to center the image in front of him.

"Be sure to get the school," the reported barked, quickly checking and adjusting her hair in the sphere's reflection. She nodded to her green-skinned partner. "We have to hurry."

"B-but, he's gone…" the girl stuttered in reply.

"The school is still there, don't worry," the reporter rushed. "You'll find your friends in a minute. What's your name?"

For a moment the girl blinked, fresh fluid running down the already created rivers on the contours of her face. "M-My? Uhm… Kelly, but…"

The cameraman again tapped the side of the sphere he held and the light swirling within glowed green.

"In three – two – one…" and he pointed his finger towards the pair.

With all seriousness, the reporter's hustled face became an expression of seriousness and dread, washing over her as instantly as happiness fled the face of a child that dropped its Goblin Dog on the ground.

"Breaking news! Coming to you live from North Mewni, this is Excelcia with Good Morning Mewni News. Unfortunately it is not such a good morning here, as you can see behind me. There has been what appears to be an explosion at the Paragon Academy shortly after classes went into session today. First responders are ushering the injured to safety as I speak and we won't have an official numbers as of yet of the potential victims; we're getting first-hand reports coming in from eye witnesses like Kelly here."

The sphere turned to focus on Kelly, whose eyes were glazed over, her hands still reaching into her locks.

"Kelly, what happened must have been truly harrowing for you and your fellow classmates, but what can you tell us about what happened from the inside?"

Kelly's face was a mixture of shock and disbelief merged into one. Her fingertips reached for the clumps of hair that she thought should surely be there atop her head, but were not, feeling only her own scalp. She remained fixated with blankly staring eyes until once again Excelcia questioned her.

"I know this must be hard for you, but Kelly, can you tell us what happened?"

Her mouth quivered, the reporter hanging on her unspoken words and nodding as if that would somehow help them to spill out. But she could only feel a fresh wave of tears roll down as she felt the empty space above her.

"He's gone… g-one."

* * *

Kelly had woken up early so she could spend a little extra time studying for her history exam. She was sure she would be able to breeze through the multiple choice questions, but wanted to make sure she could write a good essay that covered all of the major points about Mewni and it's magical technology.

Her hair was messed from her rather tousled sleep. It was hard for her to get comfortable in the night, and she'd tossed and turned, thinking over the coming exam.

She grabbed her rather large hair brush and began to tidy up her aquamarine, moppish-like hair that went down to her ankles, brushing it into bushy softness. As she combed, and combed, and combed, she whisperingly repeated, "What is Mewni?"

She slipped on a pink and white striped sweater that was covered in tiny, glistening rhinestones, jumped into a pair of black shorts, and hurried downstairs for breakfast. As she poured milk into a bowl of sweetened Corn Puff cereal, she opened her notebook and ran her finger over the page.

_ What is Mewni?_

_ There are many people who call Mewni home. Mewni includes not only the dimension of Mewni, which has easily become the most popular and trafficked dimension among its peers, but also the capital city of the same name, which is counted as the world's shining star._

She spooned in the first crunchy puffs into her mouth, hardly noticing their taste as she browsed through what she'd written during the past couple weeks.

_ Mewni has often been called a bustling metropolis. The city is massive, with its borders spread far apart. With so much space, one would expect the population to be likewise quite spread out, but that isn't the case as the confines of Mewni's borders are home to everyone._

She turned back a page, then forward, muttering through her food-filled mouth. "Yes, Mewni is huge. I bet it could take an entire day to walk through it all, or down through it all, if anyone wanted to ever do that."

_ History tells us that in the medieval period of Mewni's development, the world was ruled by many kingdoms…_

"Oh boy, I hope I don't have to remember the names of those."

_ ...each with their own sense of nationalism and sovereignty, and spread out across the land. It's hard to say how long ago that may have been, however, as there have been no successful expeditions far past the city walls in recorded history. The land had become shrouded in a hyper-dense cloud of magic radiation that stretched for at least a number of miles in every direction, possibly covering a majority of the planet. Those who have tried to discover land beyond the violet clouds never made it back and officials have declared the practice "too dangerous."_

She finished up her bowl of cereal and shut the notebook, tossing it into her furry backpack as she dashed out of the door, which was comprised of her mother's ample reddish hair.

"Bye honey!" the large mass of Woolett hair responded, an arm reaching out to wave.

As Kelly started on the path towards school, her initially frantic pace slackened. The various homes began to intermingle with office buildings, private dwellings converging in with the cityscape, slowly taking them over.

The city had multiple layers. Most of the citizens Kelly knew resided in the topmost section on the city where everything was beautiful, elegant, and modern. Splashed across building facades were plentiful lights and ever-present holographic bulletins displaying the news, latest gossips, or products to buy. Any part of the city currently being renovated was masked by the use of such holograms, or simply covered by beautiful tapestries or potted planters until the work was completed. The city always looked immaculate, and full of vibrant life. There were buildings everywhere, but also a decent helping of greenery to make it all feel natural. There was no place for disrepair or dirt, save for within potted plants.

The city was built high upon itself, using the levels below it to serve as its stacked foundation. Older buildings got over-topped by new ones as steadily the kingdom had risen, the wealthiest staying above while the less-so remained below. One could walk down the multitude of levels; the further one went, however, the more the sky overhead instead became a network of streetways and pillars, and foundationary bases belonging to larger buildings top-side. Everything became darker as natural light was replaced by false lighting, the air more closed and musty. The buildings were left forgotten the further down one went, going ages without seeing mortar to fill gaps or fresh coats of paint, especially to cover up ugly graffiti. The highest echelons of the city blocked the lower portions from view and even mind, as most of the attention was paid completely to the upper portion of Mewni, not the underbelly of it.

But, Kelly had never gone to other levels. The class of citizen she belonged to would never need for such things. Although she wondered about it, it was still beneath her desires to check out.

She started to think more about the test awaiting her later in the day and it weighed down her shoulders until even her feet felt heavy. As she reviewed the notes in her head her mind slowly kept wanting to indulge in more fun, exciting thoughts: that of discovering what adventures might lay beyond the violet clouds at the outer rim of Mewni. The daydream took over her vision as she imagined endless waves of monstrous creatures to fight.

"I'd love to be the first one to discover what was really out past that violet cloud."

"My folks told me it was just against the rules."

Kelly was immediately thrust back into reality. Her boyfriend, Tad, a smaller Woolett a quarter of her height and completely covered in hair, leapt up onto the top of her head. He perched there, his own hair color merging in with Kelly's, looking like just an extension of her.

"Hey, babe."

"Tad, don't sneak up on me like that!"

"Mellow out, Kell. I wasn't even tryin' to get the jump on you. You were just, like, in your own world. What were you thinkin' about?"

"We do have a pretty major history test today, Tad. You do remember, right? You studied?"

"How hard can it be?"

Kelly sighed and rolled her eyes. She could almost hear the smile coming from his voice. "You can't expect to just ace the test without studying. I've been racking my brain trying to make sure I will remember everything, especially for the essay part."

"You get way too stressed out if you think about it too much," he said as he reclined, getting comfortable atop her head. "Hey, I heard what you said about the violet clouds. Wanna find out some day? Are there scary monsters out there?"

"No, Tad, of course not, we have plenty of scary-looking monsters inside the city, and they're totally allowed to be here."

"I meant outside the city limits. Look, I'm just saying I don't know what there is to be afraid of out there besides getting in trouble with-"

"Off limits, under authority of the crown, pppft. Please."

"I know, right?"

It wasn't long before the two teens had arrived at the front of Paragon Academy. The building had a vaulted front exterior, covered in glass and held up by multiple marble pillars. Every facet of it was clean-cut and angled, looking like an architectural marvel. The ground floor of the building was hewn from white stone while the two upper floors were made of sandstone-like clay, bathed with sunset colors.

Kelly headed into the building along with several other classmates. She tried to squeeze past a locker and some classmates and wound up bumping into someone. When she turned to excuse herself, she found herself having to look up, and pretty far up. She had run into a tall, large-armed adult who was part of a trio wearing full blue jumpsuits. They seemed somewhat oddly out of place among the halls and students, but she figured they were probably just janitors.

"Excuse me," she said.

The clean-shaven man stared down at her with eyes steadily widening, as if he'd been quite taken by surprise and seeing something amazing before him.

She bent slightly to pick up her notebook which she'd dropped. The man was quick to snap it up before she could. It was ridiculous how fast he moved to make sure his huge hand reached it before her more slender one.

"Uhm, you dropped?" he questioned, despite the obvious answer.

"Yes, thank you."

Kelly went to take the book from his hand but found his grip to be vice-like. She pulled gently but continued to meet with resistance. When the man seemed unable to let go she looked back up at him. His eyes had been on her the whole time and only her glance broke him out of his trance, when her eyes met his own.

"Sorry," he said, his cheeks flushing red. "Your book?"

"Yes, may I have it now, please?"

"The book… uhm, yes, it's yours!" He stumbled on his own tongue.

"Yo, Kell, this dude don't seem right," Tad whispered.

"Shhh," she hushed between her teeth, trying to maintain a polite smile that was lingering far too long on her face. She pulled the book harder and finally the man released it.

"I'm sorry," he said, wiping his brow and trying to find some kind of words to fill the moment that was making his heart race. "Kobi." He extended his hand her way.

Kelly chuckled loosely and took his hand to shake.

"Kelly. And hey, thanks for picking it up. Sorry I bumped into you."

"No trouble," he smiled. "I like Kelly. I-I mean!" he bungled over his words again while trying rapidly to recover, scratching his head. "I like to meet you. T-that is-I mean, good to see your p-pretty face. Uh-I-uh!"

One of the similarly dressed men broke into their conversation. He was far older, wearing small round spectacles on the bridge of his nose which sat atop a thin, rather well-shaped mustache that spiked out on the sides.

"We don't mean to be any trouble, he means to say, miss. Sorry we got in your way."

Kelly shrugged her shoulders and slipped the notebook over her shoulder and into her backpack. "Not a problem," she said as she finally saw her exit and headed away towards the cafeteria.

"Dude was creepin' my vibes, man, lookin' at you that way."

"Oh Tad, stop being so jelly."

The big fellow was tall enough that he stood over most adults, and well over the students. He couldn't help but let his eyes track the aqua mass of hair until he couldn't tell Kelly apart from anyone else anymore, losing her as she and Tad vanished in the ever growing crowd of students.

The man's partner tapped his elbow. "Let's go, Kobi. We don't have time to linger."

They went in another direction, the expression on Kobi's face like someone stole away his happiness. The third member of the blue-suited party smacked him on the back of his head.

"The hell you doing?!" he cussed in the loudest whisper he could muster.

The trio rounded a corner while Kelly and Tad continued on into the cafe, taking a seat at one of the tables.

Kelly knew she'd be able to get in a last few tidbits of studying before history class began. She was relieved that she didn't have to wait until later in the day for the test, as her nerves were already getting the better of her. Even so, she wanted to cram in all the information she could before any of it could seep out of her brain.

Tad knocked on her forehead. "Hey, wanna go hit up that new club 'The Bounce Lounge' tonight after school?"

The pair of teens looked around. The school cafeteria was packing with energetic Mewman teens. Some were eating, others were chatting, and many more had their heads buried in books. Something about the atmosphere seemed naturally distracting. Kelly pinched the bridge of her nose and took a sharp breath before continuing.

"How you can even think about that right now is beyond me. I'm worrying about getting a good grade describing the aethertech of Mewni, and you're worrying about the best place to party."

Tad smirked within his locks. "Don't hush my groove, Kell. I have an easy solution to the essay section."

"Oh yeah?" Kelly doubtingly questioned. "What's that?"

"Why not talk about the alternative technologies? You know, the kind that the poorer Mewmans use? Bet nobody's gonna cover that. Automatic 'A' just for the topic."

"The essay portion isn't supposed to be a heavy opinion piece. I'm planning to try and write a mostly historical account, and you're supposed to be giving me a springboard, not conspiracy theories."

"Come on, K, history is all about opinions! Your paper will be too boring without some seasoning, you feel me?"

"That's not even - ahhh," she replied. "Look, just help me get my thoughts together for right now. I need to ace this history paper, and I have a lot of other things to do this week."

"Alright, whatever, but you're getting us some pizza later. What's next?"

They looked back down at the notebook Kelly had flopped open on the table.

_ Despite Mewni's predicament as a dense, mononational cityscape, the city-state has found its way forward and thrived on the backs of its brilliant minds and hardworking populace. In a land where magic has always been pervasive, the greatest challenge of Mewni's ancestry was in discovering a means by which to take magic beyond its known limits._

_ The forefathers of a once medieval world would discover a means to convert magic from its aetherial essence into a more tangible fuel source. The discovery of this process, coined "aetherial manipulation" offered a seemingly limitless source of sustainable energy by which innovative creations could be powered. Lights that didn't need to burn a candle wick were invented, factories that could handle the production of crops, the sanitation of water, and the distribution of such resources were now possible. High speed travel and communication had become all the more accessible for the average citizen where such luxuries had often been afforded to only royalty and noblemen. This, of course, included an impressive array of weaponry which could manipulate heavily dense magic particles to produce heat, cold, and a slew of other well known combative elements. All of these incredible advances occurred in rapid succession and would come to characterize a period known as "The Aetherotechnical Revolution"._

"Wow, you wrote everything the professor said down? Snooze-fest. Ya lost me at 'forefathers'."

Kelly's finger continued down the page as she mumbled the words, a bit miffed.

_ After experiencing a century-long 'golden age', Mewni had come to stand at the forefront of inter-dimensional society, having carved out a place for itself as a magical hub that was vastly ahead of its time. But if the discovery of aetherotechnology ushered in Mewni's golden age, the realization of its ultimate limitations would serve to conclude it._

Tad yawned, and Kelly persisted, louder and more angrily, trying to both get Tad to listen so something might sink in, but also to further emboss it into her own mind so she could translate it later during the exam.

_ Nobody had suspected that the magic energy surrounding the Mewni dimension would wane. It was always rather apparent that magic was truly a renewable resource, one that resurfaced as quickly as it was spent. Such beliefs were hard to combat, as a great deal of research had gone into determining whether their dependence on aetherotechnology would lead to a depletion of the resource. It was even more evident given that the clouds surrounding Mewni never weakened, never changed, never so much as moved. But after over a hundred years, studies were finally beginning to observe changes. It started with reports coming from other dimensions. A gradual decrease in magic had become apparent. In spite of this, Mewni's own resources initially continued to show no signs of decay, but eventually it too began to show that it was ever-so-slightly thinning out._

"Jeez, this is so boring. I thought you wanted to impress the teacher, not put them to sleep."

"History papers are never supposed to be entertaining, Tad. If you could get that through your fluffy skull then maybe I could actually get some more useful comments out of you."

"It's still too snoresville if you ask me."

"Well, oh great history expert, what would you write about after all of this in a history paper?"

"Obviously I'd talk about all of the cool technology we came up with, like ships and laser beams and stuff. Oh, and what about the hoverboard and hovercars?"

"That's getting too off-topic, dude. I need to talk history, not just cool stuff."

"You could totally still work in the limited resource tech. Just mention some of the crazy stuff we know people had tried, like, in the past."

"You know what, maybe that's not such a bad idea after all, as long as it's based on historical facts and not here-say. You actually are using your head for a change."

"That's all I've got, babe."

She rolled her eyes at him yet again before continuing past a couple more pages of notes. It took her a minute to find the paragraph she was looking for. The cafeteria had filled and it was steadily becoming louder; the din beginning to break her concentration.

"Here it is. I know the professor had mentioned something about "alternatives" to aether-tech., but we didn't spend much time on it."

_ With magic energy not as endlessly bountiful as it was once known to be, it was no surprise that restrictions would begin to fall upon the use of aethertech and the supply and demand of magic overall. Access to these resources has become more expensive, especially in recent decades, and though it wouldn't put too much of a dent in the average citizen's wallet, there are those in Mewni who have called the resource 'unaffordable' and many have claimed that less-wealthy individuals who don't use aetherotechnology as much as the average citizen have sought to create bootleg forms of technology that seek to rely on a resource mostly or wholly separate from magic._

_ These attempts have likely been all but successful, with the glaring problem that alternative sources of energy are unstable and inefficient at best while completely unusable at worst. Furthermore, attempts to integrated other types of energy with magic have proven not only unsuccessful, but dangerous. Magic is a pure substance, and using it in conjunction with more 'worldly' elements have the potential to be hazardous, and possibly catastrophic._

_ As such, officials have outlawed the practice of citizens creating their own aetherotechnology and especially obtaining magic energy for the purposes of integrating it with alternative forms of energy. These experiments are regarded as "simply too dangerous" and, as such, production is to be approved and mandated by the crown only. It is a wonder if people truly are still attempting to make alternative forms of technology with such harsh restrictions in place._

"Honestly, babe, that is super wordy. You better make, like, a short easy version for the essay."

"We're gonna be writing for a history paper, it is supposed to be super wordy."

"Do you really think the teacher wants to read something like this though, if you make the essay out to be this long, drawn out thing? I can't even get through the first few sentences without starting to doze off, and I'm totally down with hearing about dangerous things."

"They are specifically looking for this kind of stuff. I'm not writing a novel, it's history and social commentary. Seriously, and you wonder why your grades suffer…"

"C'mon, I'm pretty good at math you know."

"Look, my brain is almost done soaking in as much as it can handle, just bare with me for a little longer."

"What's next, the history of museums and fast food?"

"Sort of, yeah."

"Wait, what?"

"Shhh."

_ The pace of technological advancement in society has left culture shifting around it. At first, technology was designed to create more efficient processes so as to allow for more free time amongst the hardest working members of the population, but it soon shifted to convenience for everyone as society began to fathom just how much potential aetherotechnology had to offer. It can power factories and cars, but it can also project videos, cook food in new ways, and even be used to heat pools or create toys and thrill-rides._

_ People have a lot more free time now, and the question of the culture these days is not just what we **can** do with our time, but **what** we truly want to do with it. Big shopping centers with beautiful lights and live music festivals have become the norm, and the world has seemed increasingly more creative with professional and personal endeavors. Surely with a world that becomes increasingly more advanced, and a society that finds themselves free to be themselves and tackle unique life ventures, Mewni is bound to change even further for the better. Citizens will tackle the question of how to make the most of life instead of continuing to ask the question of how to make a living at all._

Kelly leaned back on the table bench. "I think if I write all of this, in this order, it should be cohesive enough, at least if I can make it as much as my notes as possible. It covers all of the bases. Mewni really is an amazing place when you take in how it all came to be."

Tad's eyes peeked through his hair to look over the notes for a second glance, this time more thoughtfully.

"Hmm, that is actually pretty cool. I wouldn't want to work in a factory myself, but it makes you appreciate those that bring it all to life, you know? And, just like, imagine a life without magic and having to find some other way to do everything. Like, how would we even light up all of Mewni with just candles? We'd hardly get around if we had to still use carriages pulled by unicorns or something. Technology kind of rules, doesn't it Kelly?"

The girl just smirked a little up at him as she saw his eyes light up for a brief moment of awakening.

"I think you're right. It has really helped make the world a better pla-"

_**BOOOoooooom**_

The whole room froze in shock as they heard the resounding of an explosion coming from somewhere not far off, surely inside the school building, the floor shaking slightly beneath their feet. Within an instant the lights cut out throughout the room. There weren't any windows in the cafeteria, so the power outage had all but left people groping about toward the hallway, seeking a light source. At first it was quiet; the explosion had stolen everyone's voices. When there was no noise to follow up the initial boom, however, people began to whisper to one another. The muttering gave way to light chatter which, in turn, gave way to a cacophony of panicked voices crowding around the exits toward the hallways.

"C'mon, Kelly, let's go this way." Tad pulled at the girl's arm and led her toward a hallway around the backside of the cafeteria, squeezing past tables and around other hesitant students who lined the walls of the room.

The two found their way through to the back hallway. There were significantly less people, allowing the two to proceed with relative ease. Nothing about the experience became any more 'pleasant' as the two continued, moving through a quiet, pitch black hallway. Each step began to feel like a pace taken away from the school they knew and into the corridors of a haunted, abandoned building.

Occasional echoing clangs and slams could be heard coming from behind, surely the sounds of those who refused to leave the cafeteria. They turned a corner, welcomed by a glint of daylight at the other end of the hallway. This path would shoot them out near the front entrance, back by where the front end of the lunchroom led.

"Should we really be going that way, Tad? We don't know what caused that explosion."

"There aren't any better ways around. It's way too dark back here. Let's just take a peek and see if it's safe."

They both nodded affirmatively to each other before starting to move again. They crept along at first, picking up the pace with each step and impatiently pushing themselves to go faster. At last, they could see each other again. Light from the outside had filtered in enough to fill their surroundings with a little bit of dim color though dust was in the air. Sure enough, more voices could be heard, some of the chatter becoming more distinct as people came into view; Tad and Kelly had reached the school lobby. For whatever reason, there were still people crowding around and obscuring the view, refusing to budge. It was as if the whole lot of them were watching a show.

Finally, they made it close enough to take in the whole of their surroundings. The entrance to the school had been severely damaged; it was likely the blast zone of whatever they had heard a few minutes ago. Black marks lined the walls, chunks of stone and plaster from the walls and shards of shattered glass from window panes were strewn about all over the floor, light fixtures were destroyed, littered about in no particular fashion. Above all else, there was one detail that drew everyone's attention.

In the center of the room was a large, black goo-like substance clumped up in the center of the room. The muck was fairly large, altogether possessing the mass of at least one full-grown Mewman adult. The pile of goo was pulsing and seemed to be moving. The pitch-black slime flowed over itself and back around, seemingly making an effort to hold some degree of consistency. But it inched along ever so slightly, behaving as though it were simply testing the waters of a foreign environment.

What had seemed like more than a minute-long stalemate was broken when someone began to walk toward the door and the goo in hopes of going around it. Nerves had possessed one student who couldn't bear the scene any longer and simply wished to reach the exit. It proved to be a fatal mistake.

Suddenly the black substance dramatically increased the pace of its flow, moving into itself as though it were a container full of boiling water, circulating across a convection current. The substance rose into a narrow pillar and curled forward, looking like an aggressive and agitated serpent. The very next instant, a chunk of the black goo shot out of the pillar directly toward the teen who had stepped out of line. The substance landed on his face with a splash. Everyone else jolted backwards a few steps, spooked but uncertain about what was happening. Tad and Kelly followed suit, but looked on with trepidation. A knot was beginning to form in their throats as they felt a sense of dread creeping into them.

The target of the black goo put his hands up in panic and began trying to wipe the goo off of his face, emitting muffled gasps as the goo covered his mouth and began to move. His hands tore and clawed at the slime desperately, but his efforts were futile. The goo simply flowed through the gaps between his fingers, pulsating and flowing around itself along his head. It began to flatten across his face as it spread out further, spinning and winding at high speeds until it found the right orifices. The goo covered his eyes, nose, ears, mouth, and began flowing into each.

His attempts to grab at the strange substance had stopped, and now, reflexively, the victim began to press his hands violently against the sides of his head. Though they remained muffled, the sounds of desperation and fear had gone and were replaced simply by screeching yelps of pain. He fell to his knees and clutched at his temple, wailing in stifled agony as the black substance flowed violently through his sinuses, optic nerves, and ear canals, cycling in and out as it seemed to be probing the boy's brain.

After a few more moments the movement stopped, and the student's body fell to the ground, limp. The goo moved out of and off of him, leaving behind a still body. He was certainly unconscious, and perhaps worse. There was no way to determine if the poor boy was even alive.

Screams of panic echoed from the crowd as people witnessed a scene out of some sort of horror movie, and people rightly assumed the worst. Now that the initial target of the goo had gone still, the substance began to pulse and course back into itself once again. Two separate blobs were now manifest with the one that had attacked their fellow student now practically doubled in size.

Desensitized to the helplessness of their captees, the goo began to race forward. Swirling around and sliding along, the substance set its sights on more of the students. They shrieked and began to push against one another in hopes of moving away from the substance. Their efforts only riled up their attackers even more.

The goo began to form up into pillars and shoot out, separating into smaller units and beginning to latch themselves onto the frantic Mewmans who clumped up the back of the lobby. Chaos ensued as people pushed, tripped, and fell about trying to escape, going any which way they could. Some tried to move around the goo while it was busy with their peers, others sought sanctuary in the lunchroom, where they could potentially hull themselves up, and others retreated down the halls from whence they came.

Kelly, too, violently grabbed Tad's hands, his own four grabbing hers, and they took off back down the dark hallway that had spit them out into the lobby.

"We need to go, Tad!"

"But where do we go?"

"WE JUST NEED TO GO!"

Kelly wanted to pick a direction as much away from the goo as fellow classmates.

"Can we make it to the gym?" Tad offered.

Kelly didn't have to be coached further. She looked around to try and get her bearings in the near darkness, heading away from the lobby, back through the panicking students in the hallways, and down another corridor that led to the gymnasium.

It was no easy task once in the hallway, outside of the range of any windows providing natural light through the dusty air. They had to slow down almost to a walking pace, Kelly releasing Tad's hands so that she could feel her way along the lockers that lined down the hall. Her fingers stroked over the smooth doors and locks, her touch becoming her new eyes. Without the majority of her vision it seemed like the hallway might go on for an eternity, her hands touching locker after locker without end. It was a wholly different experience, and one that only compounded the terror rushing the blood through her veins. Her feet wanted to run, but she could only manage so much with her lack of sight.

It had even grown more quiet the further away from the lobby they got. She hadn't noticed it immediately, but her remaining senses were being forced to take over. Few students were following behind her along the locker-wall. She could only really hear someone else tapping against the locks as she had done, at least several meters behind.

"I can't see anything in here, Kell."

"It's not that much farther. We should be able to use the exit from the gym once we get there."

"I sure hope so," he coughed. "Yo, someone is following us."

"I'm sure it's just others trying to get to the gym too."

"Yeah, but they aren't sayin' anything."

She paused for a moment to listen. She heard the clacking of the locks against the metallic lockers, the sound getting closer.

"Almost to the gym!" she called out over her shoulder to whoever was behind her. There was no response, just the knocking locks picking up the pace.

Kelly's heart skipped a beat as her breath caught in her throat.

"Go Kelly, GO!" Tad yelled.

After what felt like a warehouse full of lockers, Kelly's fingers finally felt the long flattened bar that signaled the large doorway into the gymnasium. Just a push away and their escape could be secured. The rush of endorphins made her dizzy, her hands pushing down hard against the handle. The door gave way to painfully bright light as it opened, the lights of the gymnasium still somehow remaining on against the odds.

Just at that moment one of the tendrils of blackened sludge shot their way behind their backs, right before Kelly could set foot towards freedom. It had been stalking them, oozing over the residual heat of her touch against the metal. It slammed hard into the back of Tad's head, instantly knocking him from Kelly's own. He went sailing straight forward and onto the floor.

"TAD!"

She reached for one of his hands but the goo was beginning to envelop him, sinking down through his unruly hair. She impulsively wanted to grab him, but her self preservation won out, seeing the goo covering him in seconds like a wave, drowning him beneath his mop-top of hair.

He convulsed as he fought against it, his multiple hands ripping at the blob hopelessly.

Kelly could only look on, frozen in terror, reliving the moments she had only just witnessed happening to some other kid, except this time it was her boyfriend contorting in agony, screaming out in gurgling pain until he became silenced.

More teens had staggered down the locker hallway after seeing the light source. They pressed in hard behind her, starting to push her closer to Tad's body and the goo in their frenzied escape. She wanted to stay, wanted to hold Tad, to wake him up, but she couldn't move forward for fear of the ooze, leaning back into the students that were bumping against her. The room was filling with smoke, slowly choking away her meager sight of Tad and the air around her lungs.

A moment of clarity overcame her senses as pure instinct took over; she tore her eyes away from Tad's lifeless shape and moved along with the crowd, disappearing down the hall, turning another corner and vanishing into the darkness as they all moved toward another wing of the school.

* * *

Much later that afternoon, the school building was practically visible all over the city. It was plastered on hover screens in the plazas, along animated billboards, and on every television channel with round-the-clock coverage. They played and replayed the same scenes of students fleeing for their lives, being embraced by crying parents, over and over, along with footage of parents that couldn't find their children in all of the chaos, completely lost within disoriented emotion. Reporters were buzzing about the facility that had long since been on lockdown by the Royal Task Force. Images of the school were on screens everywhere with crowds of civilians, reporters, and officials alike milling about the city and arguing with one another as they watched everything unfolding.

A black-haired reporter, now one of the main faces covering the crisis, went up on the main screen of the pavilion facing the eagerly watching audience. A new report was going live.

"We have now learned that a mysterious, bio-engineered creation had been deployed following an explosion at one of Mewni's private higher-learning preparatory institutions, which began to drastically multiply as it assaulted students, staff, and faculty early this morning. The only good fortunate in all of this terror was that the explosion itself had alerted the authorities quickly enough. Within less than an hour the Task Force had forced their way into the school and attempted to fight back against the creature-like blobs. Though their weapons and tools were essentially useless against the biological makeup of the goo, they had finally managed to contain it by erecting aetherotech barriers along the walls in order to steer it back and box it all in the lunchroom."

"Yes, well done! That substance hunted down the remaining people within and none could escape!" one man griped.

"At least whatever that thing was didn't get out into the public!" another barked in response.

"It should have been handled better," a stranger piped up.

Another voice shouted over the others. "Quiet! All of you, listen!"

The reporter was still continuing.

"There were a number of casualties. Eye witness reports from those who had survived, both civilian and members of the Task Force, detailed some of what had happened before everything could be contained."

An image of a student with bright orange, braided hair faced the camera as the reporter turned the focus onto her. The girl's voice was extremely high pitched.

"Those that got latched onto by the ooze thing were stuck inside the quarantine zone until… until there were none left standing. It kept attacking. Some people climbed tables, others tried to hide in the lockers. We just ran and ran, and we - every way we could we just ran."

Her voice quickened, her eyes quickly tearing as her voice cracked. The memory of the event started to flood out of her lips with her wild train of thought.

"An-and then there was this one person we could see moving around inside the room, and - and he had taken off into the kitchen. He was really short, kinda small, could only really see his hair, and he disappeared behind the double doors. Maybe he was looking for another way out but he was still carrying some of the black goo on him."

The television screen suddenly cut to an image of a police officer behind a podium. He talked over the eyewitness, his badge revealing his status as lieutenant.

"We are still trying to ascertain the victim's name and unfortunately, based on the evidence, it is clear that this student probably died from injuries sustained. I want to make it absolutely clear that they would still be within the quarantine zone. We have not been informed if the body has been recovered as of yet, however."

What the reporters and police all failed to address was that the slime ended the attack on its own, and not due to the Task Force which took all of the credit for saving the day. The goo had run out of conscious, moving Mewmans to pursue, and eventually all of it began coming back together within the confines of the barrier the task force had set up. The separate globs of it proceeded to move around and over the debris and people lying around them as if they were no longer even cognitive of their existence, forming back into one massive clump of merged goo. All of it had apparently collected itself together, although neither the last victim nor the goo on that particular victim's head had ever returned from behind the doors to the kitchen. Once the blobs were whole, the excited, rapid movements had declined until the goo had simply stopped moving completely and sort of just 'died'.

Official statements about the substance remained inconclusive, the topic avoided in interviews. All attempts were made to cover up the sheer scale of the situation. Hours after the event was over, the royal scientists had managed to determine that the substance had indeed succumbed to an inanimate state, safe to remove from the building. Efforts to study the residual matter had confounded everyone. There was no special hazardous substance left at all. It was simply a brittle clump of dust and ash. It was as if the substance was a burned log or some pulverized gravel that lay dormant. Not a trace of the dangerous material had remained.

"Further reports have sadly confirmed that all of the victims of the strange goo are, in fact, deceased," the reporter went on. "Biopsies revealed no trauma to cells or tissues within the body. The only notable change was to the victims' body chemistry: that of a complete absence of mitochondria within the body's neurons. According to the coroner, all brain activity had simply ceased, and the lack of energy flowing through the nervous system lead to a full body shut down. Effectually, their lives had been sucked out of their heads. What a horrific tragedy. This has been Excelsia reporting, GMM news."

What concerned the citizens the most was that the attack, and subsequent biological weapon, simply came out of nowhere. Information was in short, distilled supply, and people felt unsafe.

It wasn't long before more official statements had been made, claiming that security would be tightened around the city, and that there would be no cause for alarm despite the increase in police activity. As convincing as the official statements were, the events of the day would leave Mewni in a stir for some amount of time while repairs, reparations, and further research was being conducted.

Life went on in Mewni, as it must, but the paranoia and repetitive images of trauma would follow every person who bore witness to the events of that day, wondering what could have caused it all, and wondering what the future of their home may possibly look like.

* * *

Once the cameras had all cut and the mics all turned off, the lieutenant that had stood at the podium for the live press conference quickly dismissed himself. He brushed aside anyone trying to fish for more answers and refused to take further questions, especially from the excessively nosey, sidling reporter Excelcia, which he couldn't stand. He tagged two officers to follow along with him as he passed through the crowd control restraint beams, away from all prying eyes and ears.

He had brought the two men into the school with him. They had restored enough power that they could get a clear view of the school's interior, and after what he'd heard the orange-haired teenager say, he wanted to follow up on it quietly.

"Through the kitchen she said," the lieutenant states with determined force.

The three officers began to survey the scene. Stoves, refrigeration units, and cabinets all were opened. They moved appliances around. Pots and pans were scattered all around where students scrambled to escape through the darkness, but other than that everything was mostly in order, without a sign of any leftover blob material.

"Over here!" one of them called out. "Behind here."

At the very back of the kitchen and behind the massive dish-washing unit was a hole broken through the floor. It was rather small, but big enough for an average-built Mewman to possibly fit through, and then some.

The lieutenant leaned over the hole, pulled a thin pen-like object from his pocket, and clicked on button at its tip. Instantly a sharp day-glow light illuminated around it even brighter than the lights already shining in the room. He lowered it partially into the hole.

"Hmmm."

"What is it, lieutenant?"

"Here, hold onto this a second." He passed the light stick over and reached into a drop-leg holster attached to his leg, fishing out a matchbox-sized scanner.

"I only see a lot of… uuugh, rotten food down here?"

"Appears that way, doesn't it?" his superior said, switching on the device he held. It cast out a flat, wide beam of light as it scanned over the surrounding surfaces. He moved it slowly over and around the hole, slightly within it, then back up, until it revealed a strange marking. The symbol had a neon-like ethereal glow caused by the scanner's beam, making it give off its own light like purple fire.

A cold, grave demeanor took over the lieutenant's countenance. He promptly turned off the scanner and stood back up.

"What is it," his companion asked while handing him back his light stick.

The commanding officer didn't waste time explaining, shooting him a severe glance and pointing at the hole.

"The kitchen staff obviously found this little nook and were dumping leftovers down here out of laziness. Seal it up, and speak of this to noone."

"But sir, it's just food contaminants? Nothing to be worri-"

His curt retort ran over his sentence, snapping back with all seriousness. "That's an order! And see to it that it gets done immediately. The kitchen of off limits until this gets handled, understand?"

The two officers looked at each other curiously but nodded in agreement.

**Chapter 1 was written by KuriyanBBQ and SledgePainter.**


	2. Anomaly

It was a beautiful day in Mewni. As long as the flow of magic continued uninterrupted, every morning would remain the same. It might seem boring, but the people living there expected such perks. It wasn't only about having money or possessions. It was also about life itself being marinated in luxury.

"Ugh!"

But while citizens of Mewni enjoyed being pampered by it, certain individuals who were just going through were appalled.

"There really wasn't any other way to reach it?" The man asking the question was rather short, with a full beard covering his face. He had a peculiar expression, telling everyone around him that he was on the verge of a nervous breakdown and anything could set him off...

"It's pretty in here."

...or anyone.

"Can we buy some candies?"

Despite the rather odd request, the new question was asked by a massive man, always cheerful and smiling. His name was Kobi.

"Oh yeah, sure. And then I'll shove them down your throat so I don't have to listen to your stupid questions!"

"Can it, you two."

With a strong and authoritative voice, and without the need to raise it, the third man, Lucan, was keen to keep their presence under the radar.

"We are in public and even though these people generally mind their own business, we do not need to risk attracting their attention."

"Then why in the hell did you bring this bastard along?"

"Because no one else can work with him. Furthemore, this mission might require brute force."

Kasper didn't like Lucan's answer. "We could've taken a couple of explosives instead of this blubbering oaf."

"Do I really need to remind you that we are on a _covert_ mission? We are to retrieve the object and return to the base without causing a commotion."

"According to your doo-hickey, that thing is deep within the old tunnels of this place. How the hell would they know about us being down there?"

"It's an unnecessary risk that needs to be avoided to the best of our ability. We do not know how far the secret police's reach goes and we might end up finding ourselves in a dire situation. And down there no one would come to our rescue."

"I hate when you're right."

"I expected nothing else."

Lucan was going over the data in his head again and again, trying to make sure he would be ready to predict any and all possible problems along the way. But, as history had taught him, no amount of pre-planning could circumvent the consequences of working with his two colleagues: one a violent hothead and the other a behemoth with a child-like attitude. All he could do was to prepare his best with the limited knowledge he had at his disposal.

Anywhere else, their blue jumpsuits would raise at least a few eyebrows. Not here. The queen and authorities made sure that Mewmans were involved so deeply in their cushy lives that they were all but blinded by their hearts desires. Three dudes dressed like plumbers were absolutely none of their concern.

The three followed the steady flow of students into Paragon Academy. Thankfully, the main entrance wasn't their goal, so a few meters before reaching it they turned right and crept along the side alley toward the back. Even just this little piece of Mewni that they saw before them was sparkling clean; it was truly a sight to behold, and the side alleys weren't any different. To someone living in dirt, this scenery was utterly bizarre. Pieces of banners were floating above their heads as they reached their destination. They were mesmerizing to look at, something Kobi enjoyed to the fullest.

His sight-seeing was cut short as a mere minutes later they appeared in the school's backyard. The back door entrance they were looking for was a solid block of steel without any handles or windows, and it wasn't exactly clean. Lucan hit it in a specific pattern: thug-thug-scratch-thug-scratch-pause-thug. For a while nothing was happening, but soon enough they heard the screeching sound of doors trying to be opened from the inside.

"Looks like our intelligence department was right," noted Lucan silently.

"I'll congratulate them for not fucking up their job like last time when we go back," replied Kasper.

Lucan nodded in agreement.

Every place in the world had a certain reputation. When people visited them, they expected their lives to be enriched with unique, local experiences. Very few visitors were coming to Mewni, but they were expecting riches and comfort beyond their wildest dreams, not a fat greasy face looking at them with glass eyes.

"Yeaaahhh? _*blurp*"_

Of course, for someone living in the swamps, such sights were living standards for them.

Lucan brought up a piece of paper. "As requested by the school board, we are here to clean up the toilets."

The man standing in front of them gave them an empty look. "Yeah? You have - ugh - any papers?"

Lucan was caught surprised. "There wasn't a mention about papers."

"Yeah, see, that is a problem, because-" He obviously had a hard time not only standing on his feet, but also collecting his thoughts. "I… uh, still need to see papers."

"They didn't say anything about papers. We were told this was already settled."

"That's your problem, bud."

Diplomacy was always Lucan's first choice when dealing with people, but if that failed, Kasper used his own methods. He pushed Lucan aside and raised his head to make sure the dude standing over him would understand him very clearly. "Listen here, you fat fuck! The higher ups decided we had to come here to clean up your shit. We are more than happy to start with the biggest shit standing right in front of my face. Or you can move your dick aside and let us in to do our job!"

The man was shocked by his reaction. "Whoa there, now listen up, you can't talk to me like that!" His voice would certainly have sounded more threatening, if it wasn't for the high level of alcohol in his blood.

"Oh no? Then let me introduce you to my friend over here." He stepped aside so that the guard could see Kobi standing behind him. "His name is 'I'm gonna break your limbs'."

"Hello!" Kobi waved his hand.

"I don't-" Some understanding was seeping into his alcohol marinated brain, but it wasn't enough.

"Kobi, why don't you shake his hand?"

"I'll be happy to!"

"Show him how friendly we are."

"Oki doke!"

Kobi's face was constantly smiling at him, but there was something behind that smile that alarmed the guy, like a much needed wake up call, if only for a few seconds.

"Alright, alright! I- I'll let you in! Just- Go… _*blurp*_ do your job."

"A wise decision."

Lucan never liked Kasper's aggressive attitude, but he couldn't dismiss its efficacy in situations like this. He smiled at the guard, trying to ease the tension a bit. "Thank you for your cooperation, sir."

"Just… Get out of my sight."

With subtle disappointment in his eyes, he took his comrades into the bowels of the school's ground floor.

The interior wasn't that much different from what they were used to down in the suburbs, but there were some notable differences. The biggest one was in the generator room they were passing through. Since everything ran on magic, many magical creatures were used as conduits for the magical flow. In here they utilized fire-flies: flies that actually generated fire and heat. But since they only did that when provoked, Mewmen engineers pioneered a solution to force them to keep releasing the energy they need. The process involved what were known as Adium Crystals. These crystals were tiny, sharp and spiky shards that could easily be found laying around near the outskirts of the city. It seemed to exist as a byproduct of several magical wars. Any magical properties were harmless to Mewmens, being only a small walking hazard if stepped on, but forcing Fireflies to go nuts. So they threw a few of them into a generator together with a swarm and let them explode with anxiety until they died.

It wasn't a pleasant view for any of them, but their goal wasn't to enforce their opinions about the environment. They needed, and quickly, to find entry to what they expected to be an ancient tunnel running somewhere under the school. With this in their minds they calmly left the ground floor and, using steep stairs, they approached the floor above.

The school was full of students getting ready for the day, but they didn't think it would be so… sterile. Regular schools were unremarkable in design to keep distractions to a minimum, but the ones in Mewni took that a step further. There were steady pure white lights illuminating dark purple walls, floor and roof, reaching to every corner. The doors were a plain dark wood with no windows. There were no pictures, no flyers, nothing that would catch the eye and get in the way.

"Fucking hell," noted Kasper silently.

"I have to agree," responded Lucan. "I can't even find the proper words to describe it."

"Did someone die here?" asked Kobi. His question caught them both by surprise.

"They may as well have. The sooner we find that entry point the better. I shudder to think how those poor kids must feel after spending several hours in here almost every day."

Kasper was visibly repulsed by this remark. "These kids - as you call them - wouldn't hesitate to smash our skulls into the nearest wall if they learned we're from the Resistance."

Lucan pondered the thought for a few seconds. "Indoctrination."

"Yeah. Let's go now."

But before they could move on, one of the students dropped her notebook at Kobi's feet.

"Excuse me," said the girl.

And in that very moment Kobi felt a sensation like never before. The same was true for Kasper as well, although for a different reason.

He slowly turned to Lucan, trying not to raise any suspicion. "Of all the people, we stumbled upon a Woolett. A fucking Woolett!" he muttered toward his partner.

"Keep your cool and we'll be fine."

She bent down slightly to pick up her notebook which she'd dropped. Kobi was quick to snap it up before she could. It was ridiculous how fast he moved to make sure his huge hand reached it before her more slender one.

"Uhm, you dropped?" he questioned, despite the obvious answer.

"Yes, thank you."

Kasper's desire to end this encounter as soon as possible was palpable. Unfortunately for him, so was Kobi's desire to prolong it. He was demonstrating this by refusing to return her notebook.

"Sorry," he said, his cheeks flushing red. "Your book?"

"Yes, may I have it now, please?"

"The book… uhm, yes, it's yours!" He stumbled on his own tongue.

"Yo, Kell, this dude don't seem right," said the voice coming out of her hair.

"Shit! There is another Woolett in her hair! Is she breeding them?!" Kasper barked beneath his breath.

"Lower your voice! She will hear you."

Her polite smile became increasingly more nervous, as she tried to pull the book harder from his grasp.

He finally loosened his grip and allowed the book to be taken back.

"I'm sorry," he said, wiping his brow and trying to find some kind of words to fill the moment that was making his heart race. "Kobi." He extended his hand her way.

The girl chuckled loosely and took his hand to shake.

"Kelly. And hey, thanks for picking it up. Sorry I bumped into you."

"No trouble," he smiled. "I like Kelly. I-I mean!" he bungled over his words again while trying rapidly to recover, scratching his head. "I like to meet you. T-that is-I mean, good to see your p-pretty face. Uh-I-uh!"

Kasper was growing angry, but he couldn't risk making a scene. "Lucan," he whispered, "do something before he blows our cover!"

"Right." Lucan stepped in. "We don't mean to be any trouble, he means to say, miss. Sorry we got in your way."

Kelly shrugged her shoulders and slipped the notebook over her shoulder and into her backpack. "Not a problem," she said as she finally saw her exit and headed away towards the cafeteria.

With the students on their way, Lucan tapped his elbow. "Let's go, Kobi. We don't have time to linger."

They went in another direction. The expression on Kobi's face was as if someone had stolen away his happiness. But Kasper wasn't so tactful.

"The hell you doing?!" he cussed in the loudest whisper he could muster.

Trying not to risk a racket, they quickly went on, turning behind the corner to hide from the eyes of the students. The hall looked pretty much the same as the previous one, but it was less cramped.

"She was so pretty," noted Kobi with sadness in his voice.

"Ain't nothing pretty about the things I'll do to you if you pull shit like that again!"

"Guys stop! Listen!" They all could hear a faint beeping coming from Lucan's backpack. "It's here."

"What?" asked Kasper. "The artifact?"

"No! That would be ridiculous. It's the entrance."

"Your thingy is showing the way?"

"Of course not. Nothing can do that. My tool is… Er - the magic. With such a low intensity in Mewni, it tends to behave like a river and my tool simply points the way to the strongest nearby current."

"Uhm. So where is it?"

"Let me check." Lucan looked around to make sure that no one would spot him. The hallway was even more empty than before. "Huh. Interesting. I wonder where they-"

"Dude!"

"Righ, right." He placed his backpack down on the ground and reached into it. After rustling through it for a few seconds he brought out a somewhat bulky piece of equipment. "So I was right. According to this, there is one magical current flowing through these halls. It's quite interesting if you think of it."

"I don't give a fuck about how '_fascinating' _or whatever it is! Just point us to it so we can get the hell out of here."

"Checking."

He kept turning around until the device made the strongest sound when pointing to a specific direction. "It appears that it is coming from there. From… the cafeteria, it seems. Hmm. This might be challenging. They might have some questions about our presence going in there."

"I have an even better question for you: where the hell is Kobi?!"

They were both looking around. Spotting a huge man among young teenagers should have been easy, but their efforts were fruitless. Kobi was simply gone.

Kobi was smiling. He had every reason to. It didn't happen every day he met a girl that took his breath away. Or any girl for that matter. To be fair, he could be rather easily amazed by a lot of stuff, people included. But this was different. Because she was different. And he felt that in every bone.

He went back to the spot where he met her, being sure she would still be there. He was determined to give her a present he was holding in his hands. He approached the place, completely ignoring all other students. In everyday business they were ignoring everything that didn't concern them, just like every other Mewman; but seeing a funny looking dude in a jumpsuit just standing there with an idiotic smile did get their attention. Some of them even stopped walking and just kept watching him, wondering what he would do.

Kobi was so sure that Kelly would come back that he didn't doubt himself even for a second. He was friendly, smiling wide because he had a pretty present for her. In his mind he did everything to make her want to stay with him. Alas, their reunion was not meant to be, which he started to painfully realize after his hands started to cramp. Reality crept into his mind, forcing him to reevaluate his short term plans.

With apparent sadness in his eyes, he decided to leave the package on the ground. Even though she didn't come back to him he still hoped that she might like the present he'd picked for her. However flawed this logic was to everyone else around him, it made perfect sense to him, so he left it exactly where he had laid sight on her for the first time, and with great disappointment decided to return to his fellow agents.

"Are you thinking what I'm thinking?" asked Kasper.

"I'm afraid so. We must hurry before he runs into her a-"

Just as he was about to finish his sentence, Kobi appeared from behind the corner.

Kasper was thrilled to see him. "Where the fuck you have been?!"

"I wanted to give Kelly a present, but I couldn't find her, so I left it on the floor for her to find it when she comes back."

"We didn't come here to find you a date, you shitstain!"

"Wait," Lucan stopped him. "Kobi, what kind of present did you have to give her?"

"Oh. I found a really good looking box in your backpack."

"A bo-" When his eyes met with Kasper's, he knew they were in deep trouble. "The Black Box!"

Kasper didn't waste a second and hard slapped Kobi. "That was a weapon of mass destruction, you fucking retard! FOR EMERGENCIES ONLY!"

"But it looked so nice!"

"I'll rip off your dick off and beat you with it!"

"Hurry! Maybe there is still time before someone ope-"

_**BOOOoooooom**_

A massive shock wave passed through building. The sound cut out and lights went off abruptly. Aside from a few sounds of crumbling rocks and the voices of shocked students, nothing else transpired after the explosion.

Lucan brought out his flashlight and shined it down the hallway. "Interesting."

"Do you think it didn't get out?" asked Kasper.

"In theory the inner casing could withstand the blast, but it is very unlikely. The weapon engineers were perfectionists and always made sure their creations would work."

"So then where is all the yelling and panic?"

There were brief squeals and scramblings from students here and there, down the the distant corridors and rooms, as if panic would abruptly set in only to suddenly die away again. The space between the horrified sounds lengthened until everything went quiet for a fairly long while in the dark. The minutes stretched on, the trio scanning the darkness for signs of movement.

Kobi wrung his hands worriedly as Kasper gritted his teeth, looking to Lucan for direction.

Lucan held up a finger the other two could barely see. "Shh!"

They could hear a person sneaking out of the cafeteria. "C'mon, Kelly, let's go this way."

"Kelly…" gasped Kobi.

"Stay where you are!" Kasper commanded.

Lucan picked up his backpack. "We need to get out of here immediately."

"Wise words," agreed Kasper.

"But what about all those students in here?" asked Kobi with sadness in his voice.

"They're doomed," replied Lucan.

"B-But Kelly…"

Kasper gave him a pat on his shoulder. "That's just your everyday's shit. Now move your ass!"

_**AAaaaaaaaaAAA!**_

The yelling forced all remaining students in the cafeteria to run away, leaving it completely empty.

"The timing is impeccable. Great work, dude!"

"Kasper, stop teasing him. He is sad as it is."

"He should be! His stupidity caused all of this!"

"And we will deal with it after we return to HQ, but right now we need him focused on the mission. Kobi? Follow us."

Without any enthusiasm he followed his teammates into the now empty room. The smell of coffee and various other drinks were still hanging in the air. It was as if the students had never really left the place. The scents combined with all of the screaming and echoed noises, creating a haunting atmosphere.

Lucan lead them into the kitchen in the back. Many things were still being cooked and some were even starting to get burned. But culinary secrets weren't what they were after.

"Where is it?" asked Kasper.

"Near."

"Is that supposed to help?"

"You have to realize that tracking down and following magical currents is a delicate work. This isn't a river you can simply follow upstream to find the spring."

"Huh. That's a good point. But I feel compelled to note that we are in a building THAT IS BEING EATEN!"

"I suggest you lower your voice unless you want that thing to follow us here."

"Just find the fucking entrance!"

"I told you it's- there!" Lucan suddenly pointed at a massive rack filled with food and spices.

"It's in… a black pepper jar?" Kapser smiled.

"Underneath the rack, obviously."

"Yeah, obviously. Kobi, make yourself useful and get rid of it."

Big fellow was still sad, but he didn't wish to enrage Kasper even more, so he just did what was asked of him. Unfortunately his enthusiasm got the best of him, and with a flair of his own he threw it to the other side of the kitchen.

Kasper realized the mistake he made. "Well, if those things didn't hear us before, they surely heard us this time."

"Kasper…!" Seeing Lucan even subtly angry was rare and unpleasant enough even for Kasper.

"Alright, I fucked up, I'm sorry. But look! There is the entrance and it's…" He was staring at it for a few seconds, trying to figure out if this was the punishment for his screw up. "Holy shit it's small! I don't think Kobi will even fit."

The big fella didn't like the prospect of being left behind. "What?"

"He'll fit. Barely, but he'll get through." While ensuring Kobi of his survival, something got his attention. It was small, placed just above the entrance. A marker of some kind. "Hmm."

Kasper noticed his interest in the object. "What is it?"

"Not sure." While trying to inspect the item with intriguing markings, a fast-paced movement was heard coming from outside the cafeteria. And it was approaching. "That's our cue. Move on."

"But…"

"What is it this time, Kobi?"

"It stinks in there!"

Lucan looked over the hole to check its bottom. "Huh. It appears the kitchen staff discovered it and kept using it as a trash bin for spoiled food. Regardless, this is the path we need to take."

"But I don't wanna!"

Right on cue, Kasper stepped in. "KOBI, GET YOUR FUCKING ASS IN THERE OR I'LL RIP OFF BOTH OF YOUR LEGS AND SHOVE THEM UP INTO YOUR ASSHOLE!"

"Grrr!"

With complications, Kobi managed to get through and landed directly onto the pile of stinky old food.

"Eww!"

"You'll live. Now, catch Kasper and then me. And hurry; whatever is following is getting close."

They both promptly jumped into the hole, leaving the mess they caused behind them.

After a short while of slow walking in squats, they entered a bigger tunnel. To their amazement, it was still lit. Dusty, but otherwise undamaged.

"An access tunnel," noted Lucan.

"Huh?" wondered Kasper.

"What we left behind has to be an access tunnel, which would make this one here a maintenance tunnel."

"So you know where we are?"

"No. I'm just assuming."

"Based on what exactly?"

"Educated guess."

"And this helps us… how?"

"That remains to be seen."

"Terrific."

"It was worth mentioning because this kind of architecture was used only rarely, at least in lower Mewni. I only know about such structures existing over there, but still… this appears to be in an astonishingly well-preserved state."

"That's fascinating and all, but we didn't come here for sightseeing. Left or right?"

"Indeed. Let's see… Hmm, now this is interesting."

"Enough of this bullshit! Just tell us where to go!"

"Right. The flow comes from the right."

"Finally! Let's move our asses before that thing decides to fuck 'em."

"Right, of course.

Leaving the cafeteria behind, they pressed forward. With the sheer importance of the mission on their minds, they were eager to reach their destination swiftly. Unfortunately, their intentions were getting harder to reach, which was becoming more and more apparent with every meter they traversed through the tunnel. It snaked left and right, stretching and bending without an apparent end in sight.

"Argh!" growled Kasper. "This tunnel goes on forever!"

"Don't be ridiculous," objected Lucan, who, for lack of a better word, was enjoying the scenery, or lack thereof. "I'm confident that we will reach the end in no time."

Kasper hated many people and many things, and reassuring pep talks were at the top of the list. Hearing his artificially soothing voice was like fingernails on a chalkboard. "Oh yeah?" he replied as coldly as possible, "and how do you know, huh?" He was trying his best not to squish his face to cover up his idiotic smile. "Is one of your gadgets showing you something I don't know?"

"Not at all."

"Then how do you know where we are going?" The acoustics of the tunnel amplified his angry voice to new heights.

"This is not the time for you to unload your frustration. Logic dictates that eventually we will reach the end. Furthermore, this is unknown territory. Who knows what lies at the end of this tunnel. And now, thanks to your vocal performance, whatever might be there knows about us at this point."

"So what?! We have mister muscle here!"

"Kobi isn't invincible, which is why we always have to assess the situation. It's the part of covert missions you keep failing to understand."

"So after Kobi fucked up half of the school, you suddenly realized we have to be covert. That's interesting. Let me just-" Kasper started to search his jacket for something.

"What is it?"

"Wait. I know it's somewh- ah! Here it is." He brought his hand up, presenting his closed fist as if he was holding something. But after opening his palm, there was nothing there.

"It's empty," noted Lucan.

"Yeah. I was searching in my jacket for my portable Fuck-O-Meter and this is the exact amount of fucks it gave me about your speech."

Lucan raised his finger, preparing to fight back. Alas, he was interrupted by a sound that caught their attention and sent a shiver down their spines. Whatever made it, they could hear it coming down the tunnel, slowly, but surely approaching their position.

"Shit! It did follow us here!"

Something about the sound seemed chaotic; it was excessively unnatural. There was a mix of sounds, one distinctly weirder than the other. The noises meshed together, creating a hellish soundscape.

"How could that thing survive without a fresh host for so long?!"

"Your guess is as good as any."

It didn't take long for their stalker to appear in their sights. And it wasn't pretty.

"Fuck me!"

"It appears to be some kind of head and is still alive even after several minutes of infection."

Kasper squinted his eyes, trying to make out details of the host body. His discovery sent his mind into a spiral of deep fear. "A Woolett! That thing got ahold of that motherfucking WOOLETT!

"It appears to be confused. I don't think its behaviour is by design. This is quite extraordinary."

"Extraor- What do you think this is, a fucking zoo?!"

Before anyone could do anything, the Woolett boy, or rather what was left of him at that point, opened his mouth filled with goo and released a bunch of tentacles with their own little screeching mouths.

"Fuck!"

The creature screeched in agony.

"FUUUUCK! RUN FOR YOUR LIFE!"

They didn't need much of a reason to start running for it, even though Lucan did wonder if that was the best thing they could do. "Maybe we should think this through."

"Are you for real?! What the hell you wanna think about in the middle of running for our lives?!"

"That's the issue. We don't know what lies in front of us."

"An escape!"

"Even if that is true and there is nothing else on the road ahead, we can't say for certain when we'll reach a safe haven."

"We are running away from certain death! Is that logical enough for you?!"

"We can't keep running forever! We need a plan and we need it soon!"

"The plan is to stay alive!"

"That is no- Wait, what's that?"

"An imminent death, that's what!"

But Lucan wasn't paying attention to what was behind them, but rather what was standing in front of them. Against all odds, he saw a young blond girl, eagerly waving at him.

"That's not possible…"

Even at their fast running pace, she was getting close real quick and he began to notice her grotesque dress and what appeared to be horns on her head. It all seemed surreal and he had trouble accepting it. "How…"

"What are you mumbling about? That thing is getting closer!"

When death was breathing down one's neck and the situation was spiraling out of control, one must take all the help he could get, even if it came from a girl that shouldn't be there.

"All of you, into the room on your right!"

"What room?!"

The moment they were just a few meters away from it, the girl went inside, followed by Lucan holding Kasper's shirt and Kobi with fear in his eyes.

"It's right behind us!" Kobi squealed.

"Shove the door!" But Lucan knew that wouldn't be enough.

He immediately started looking for something to barricade them. To his surprise the room was filled with old equipment of some kind. All that was left to do was to choose.

"That big heavy looking box! Lean it over the door so it can't get inside!"

"Roger!"

Before they could all say "quickly" Kobi grabbed it, and with an incredible ease barricaded the door. Not two seconds after, the banging started; heavy, strong and loud, with a Woolite on the other side desperately trying to gain access to their safe haven.

"Not that I'm complaining," said Kasper while trying to gasp for air, "but what the hell is this place? And most importantly, how we will get outside?"

"That… I'm not sure."

"I beg your pardon?"

"I was led her by a girl."

In visible confusion, Kasper started to look around. All he could see was a mess covered by a thick layer of dust. "Not to ruin your parade, but there is no one in here."

"I can see that, but I'm telling you that I saw her showing me to come here."

"Oh that's wonderful. A girl popped out of fucking nowhere, she points her sexy little fingers to this cute little room and you jump right in without thinking!"

"My decision saved our butts."

"They're called asses and maybe you didn't notice, but this place is a FUCKING DEATHTRAP! There is no way out of here except for those doors and by the looks of it they won't hold much longer! All you did was you handed our _asses_ on a silver plate for that shit out there!"

"I refuse to think this was a mere accident. There must be a purpose to it!"

"I'm this close to giving my fist a purpose of meeting with your face up close and personal!"

Among all that noise, a new and different one started to come out from one of the walls. They didn't hear at first, but in those short moments when the creature outside stopped smashing itself against the doors, they could hear it - the tinny sound of someone moving around in a shaft. Without saying a word, Kobi removed a tool shed of the wall and revealed an entry into the ventilation shaft.

"That's our purpose."

"Hmpf! Lucky guess."

"Be that as it may, that's our ticket out of here. Kobi, can you see if you will fit through?"

"Now this I want to see," smiled Kasper.

Kobi bent over and went head-on inside, and to everyone's surprise, with ease.

"Well I'll be…"

"Excellent! Kasper, you follow him. I'll be right behind you. And make it quick - the doors are starting to break down."

"With pleasure!"

After Kasper disappeared in the shaft, Lucan looked at the door one last time. "For what it is worth: I'm sorry. I never intended any harm to any of you students. You didn't deserve this." With the guilt off his chest, he followed his teammates to escape the place.

"Kobi!" yelled Lucan from behind. "Can you see where it leads?"

"No! It's dark in here. I'm scared."

"It's alright! Just keep on going until you reach the exit. Don't be scared if there isn't any light ahead either."

"If there is an exit…"

"Kasper, shut it! We are all stressed as it is. There is no need to make it even worse."

"But it makes me feel better."

"You and I will have to have a talk about morale when we get back to HQ."

"If we even get back…"

"Kasper!"

"Uhm, guys? There is something weird in here."

Now they were both paying him attention.

"What kind of weird?" asked Lucan.

"I can feel the floor wobbling."

"I can feel it too," confirmed Kasper.

"This part of shaft might be suspended on the wall. Kobi! Keep on going, but do it slowly! Move one hand at the time and-"

_**CRAAAAACK!**_

They felt the entire shaft tilting forward and it showed no signs of slowing down. Soon after they all slid outside and started to fall. The new place they were in was completely dark, which only strengthened the anticipation of imminent death. Fortunately for them, the fall wasn't too long. It was several more seconds before they would land, but first they hit something metallic, judging by the sound, followed shortly by a second clanging sound, which was their stop. Even though it didn't take them long to hit the ground, the impact itself was unpleasant enough for them that they felt the need to check their bones.

"That… hurts," noted Lucan. "Oh, my back."

"Your back?" replied Kasper with sharp irony in his voice. "I can feel pain in bones I didn't know I have!"

"Well, all things considered, I did save us, didn't I?"

"If only you '_saving' _us didn't hurt this much."

"Wait, I'll use my flahlight. Here we go. Hmm."

"_Hmm_? Don't say _hmm _after the shit we just went through!"

"I'm just wondering where the girl went."

"This again…"

"Whether you believe me or not is inconsequential. We survived because she intervened."

"Have it your way. What is this place anyway? I don't recognize a thing."

"Yeah, this is…" Lucan's mind was working on the question way before it was even asked, so even though he couldn't name it just yet, the answer was already taking shape in his head. "This…" He touched the cold, rusty metallic pole. "This…" He then inspected the now mostly damaged seats on both sides. "This…"

"I swear, if you say 'this' one more time I will rip your tongue out and wear it like a tie! Just answer the fucking question: do you know what _this _is?"

Lucan looked into his eyes with a spark. "A railcar."

"A what?"

"A railcar. This is an intact railcar."

"I don't know what a railcar is but…" Kasper looked around to inspect all the damage that took a bite out of the place. "I'd hardly call this intact."

"Well, yes, of course, time is merciless to everything. Still, taking into account the age of this contraption, it is surprisingly well preserved."

"Alright then. Let me rephrase the question: where the fuck are we?!"

"You really don't know? Huh, come to think of it, it's not really too surprising. You never really did pay attention to history lessons."

"History doesn't save your ass, bombs do. Now will you answer my damn question or what?!"

"Very well. Come with me."

He proceeded to take them out of the carriage. They couldn't move much even there, as there were multiple wagons all over the place, stacked close to each other. "This way." Thankfully, the wagons weren't derailed or otherwise damaged in such a way that might hinder their progress, so after a while of walking between them, they reached a spot where the tracks began to spread further apart from each other.

Kobi was fascinated by all of the new stuff he could explore, though he couldn't care less what it actually was; every new thing was a good thing. Kasper, however, never really enjoyed the whole exploration gig. He was only interested in blowing up the things they found.

Lucan turned around and raised his hands. "Gentlemen, welcome to the depot of Warnicorn Metro."

"Wait, you mean to tell me that Warnicorn Metro is real?"

"Indeed it is, despite its almost legendary status, as you can see."

"I thought it was just a rumor."

"That's because the Queen doesn't like failures and she made sure to wipe its existence from public memory by simply killing everyone who dared to even acknowledge its existence. All the remaining physical evidence was destroyed."

"Why not destroy the whole thing?"

"Because by the time she had a change of heart, the whole system was so complex that they couldn't get rid of it without turning everything on top of it into debris. But they did lock it out from the reach of common folks by building additional tunnels and buildings around it."

"How do you even know all this stuff?"

"Knowledge is power."

The sound that came from above their heads made them look up, even thought they couldn't possibly see anything in the pitch black darkness. Still, the noise was distinct, and considering the recent events, it was obvious what was making it.

"You think it's that girl you saw?" asked Kasper.

"I hope so, though I somehow doubt it."

"Yeah."

The fact that they couldn't pinpoint the exact location of the noise was making the whole situation worse. All they could do was continue staring into dark nothingness.

Kasper huffed. "Shouldn't we get out of here? I'm not exactly thrilled to face it again."

"But where to? We didn't have the chance to explore this place. We might end up wandering for hours, days even, and never finding a way out nor what we came here to find."

"Guys?" Kobi interrupted them. "I think the girl is showing us the way."

As a welcomed distraction from the imminent horror, they looked left and noticed a blond girl in the most unusual dress, holding a flashlight and waving at them to follow her.

"Holy shit."

"Now you believe me, Kasper?"

"I believe my eyes."

"Uhm, all right. We should move be-"

Before Lucan could finish his sentence, they could hear what sounded like something crashing into one of the boxcars not far away from their position. All three of them had the same thought; each of them had hoped that they were wrong. It wasn't clear at first, as the thing that landed inside wasn't make any noise; if it was moving, it was doing so with the utmost secrecy.

"Maybe it's dead," said Kasper with a nervous chuckle, trying to hide the growing fear inside him.

"Maybe."

"Er, guys, the girl is still waving at us. Maybe we should go meet her instead of waiting for that thing to eat us?"

Now this sent shivers down their spines. It was one thing to feel fear when a horribly deformed mutant was chasing them, but hearing that fear in the voice of their big gun made them realize the gravity of the situation. They were keen not to die.

"You're right Kobi," agreed Lucan. "We should leave this place before-"

The silence that was giving them some hope of being safe dissipated like a morning fog the moment the car started to keel from one side to another. A noise like that of steel being ripped apart emanated from it. They wanted to run as far as possible, but their legs were locked in place by the crippling fear of aggravating the creature and, in turn, of accelerating their journey toward their own demise. All they could do was to watch with hearts beating like crazy.

The sound started to move from the point of impact along the car. It was clear that it was ripping its insides out, though the purpose of doing so was unclear to them. That was, until it came out and they could see the thing by their own eyes; and that sight was haunting them.

"MY HOLY DICK!"

"My dear!"

"I'm scared! Can we go home now?!"

It was Tad. Or rather what was left of him. The impact was so great that despite being covered by the goo creature, he broke all of his bones and even a small part of his skull. But the entity wasn't ready to give him up, so it improvised: it took all the steel pipes it needed to replace the cracked bones and cover the exposed brain, which was already looking like a dry plum. The creature certainly didn't cater to aesthetics, so the thing standing there in front of them looked like a pure eldritch horror snatched straight from the worst of nightmares. It wasn't doing anything, save irregularly breathing through semi-broken nostrils, but it was enough for them to shit their pants.

"Lu-Lucan?" stuttered Kasper.

"Yes?" answered Lucan with shaking voice.

"Tell me you have a plan. For everything that's holy to you, tell me that you know how to get us out of here in one piece."

"W-Well, erm, I…"

"No. No no no no no!"

"Just let me think, all right? I need to… assess the situation."

"What do you need to assess?! That: a deadly monster - us: dead meat!"

"Don't you think I don't know that?! But if we want to survive this encounter we need to think smart about our next step." Standing there against the creature, Lucan began to calm enough for him to formulate a plan. After a while of stressful thinking, he said, "Poop bombs."

"Excuse me?"

"Didn't you hear me?! Poop bombs!"

"Wha- Ooooooooooh! Poop bombs!"

"Yes, poop bombs."

"So does this mean I have your permission to make shit go boom?"

"Only that specific shit, nothing else. We still need to finish our mission."

"Man, how can you still think about the stinking mission?"

"Training. Now do your thing."

"Right, right." Kasper was, within the limits of the current situation, happy. He could finally shine with his explosive personality against a worthy adversary! If only he could force himself to make a move.

"What are you waiting for?"

"It's just that… It might recognize they are bombs and chop me into pieces before setting them off."

"I don't believe it will do that. At least not right away."

"What makes you think that?"

"Its behavior. Just like a few minutes ago, it isn't doing anything. Chasing us all the way down here, but not proceeding with killings."

"Now that _is_ weird."

While the two could hide their fear for the most part, Kobi wasn't so fortunate.

"Can you PLEEASEEE make it go away?!" There was a subtle hint of cry in his voice.

"Alright, alright! You're acting as if we are about to die or something. Sheesh. OK then, I'm reaching for my belt, slowly!" And he was really slow, straining every muscle in his arm to keep its movements to an absolute minimum. A sloth standing next to him would appear as if doped on caffeine.

Lucan was watching him the whole time. "What are you doing?"

"Trying not to startle it."

"Just pick those bombs and throw them at it already!"

"Pfft! OK, fine, have it your way!" He angrily reached into his pocket, picked a handful of small black balls, and threw them at it as if in tantrum. "There! Happy?!"

There were several scenarios they could have imagined once Kasper threw the bombs: a premature explosion, a late explosion, an explosion doing not nearly enough damage, an explosion that was misdirected… Basically every idea contained some form of explosion. What they got instead was something completely not expected: tiny, nasty tentacles reaching out from all over the hijacked body and eating those small bombs, not leaving a single mark after them. No flash, no sound, no smoke. Just gone.

"Well, that just happened, " summarized Kasper. "I think it's safe to say we are fucked."

"Not just yet."

"What do you mean not just yet? It ate them! They didn't leave a dent on it! That's an apt description of being fucked!"

"But it still isn't doing anything. That's a good sign."

"It's a sign of it playing with its food."

"You and your pessimism."

"You still don't believe me? Here, let me make this jump to end this fucking sharade."

"Wait, what are you doing?!"

But it was too late. Kasper made a swift jump away from the monster to demonstrate just how wrong his leader was. And the monster did the most unusual thing he could think of: once again, absolutely nothing.

"What the- WHAT THE FUCK IS ITS PROBLEM?! First it chases us, then it stops, then it chases again and when it has us on a silver plate, it doesn't do shit again! That thing is broken! Fuck it, let's go!"

"No!"

"Oh fuck you Lucan! I had enough of your bullshit!"

"Just wait a second! I think I know what is happening here. And if I'm right…" He raised his foot and made a step back. Tad, as previously, did nothing.

"I give up," Kasper threw up his arms.

"Just one more thing. Kobi, make one step back. Slowly."

"But I'm scared."

"I know you are. We all are. But I need you to do this one thing for me. Please? Just one slow step back, nothing more."

"Uhm, erm, o-ok." Kobi carefully lifted his leg and started to move it behind his back. That immediately triggered a growling in the monster. "Gah!" He quickly returned his leg back to where it was previously.

"Ha! So I was right after all!"

"I am so fucking happy for you, man. Like, I would give a hug and shit, but unfortunately this place kills the mood for it."

"Yes, yes. Do you remember that encounter we had with the girl, the one with the book?"

"Her name was Kelly," Kobi quickly corrected him, which awarded him an even nastier growl from the creature.

"Hush now, Kobi. Let me talk. So anyway, we heard another voice coming out of her hair. Head to be more precise. I now believe that was her boyfriend."

"Even if so, how the hell is this supposed to help us?"

"Because now I can come up with some kind of plan to get us out of here in one piece while achieving our mission goal."

"Do tell."

"You see, when the goo attacked him, it went on with its business; sucking out all the brain energy and all that. But the substance wasn't created with Woolites in mind. And there is a good reason for it: back then no Woolite was living in Mewni and they were considered extinct after the great Magical Wars with their people. My guess is that it couldn't fully merge with its host and when it was about to be done with this boy here, it wanted to jump to another victim, but at that very moment it tapped into his rage against Kobi. "

"Because he was hitting on her!"

"Exactly! So now they are both locked in endless agony: the boy is alive just a split moment from death and the goo is dying of hunger, and both want the opposite things. Although at this point my guess would be he just wants to die."

"Awesome mental work, dude! Now, let me ask you this: HOW THE FUCK IS THIS SUPPOSE TO HELP US?!"

"We can use Kobi here as bait."

"What?! No! No bait! I don't want to die!" Kobi objected.

"Don't worry, I don't want you dead either. We will just make sure it will follow you to a place where we can kill it. The boy deserves his peace and we deserve to live. Are you with me, Kobi?"

"So I won't die?"

"Not if you will do exactly what I tell you to do."

"O-OK." Even though he agreed, he wasn't convinced.

"This is all dandy and sweet and shit, but what is the _actual_ plan?"

"I'm not exactly sure."

"Say what?!"

Kobi lit up. "But the blond girl appears to know how to proceed."

Kasper looked over his shoulder to the opening in the dark. "She was holding that flashlight this whole time? Damn she has to have a strong arm."

"I believe it is safe to assume she wants us to follow her there. Which we'll do."

"Excellent idea boss, but it seems you forgot about one small, tiny, itsy-bitsy, but ever so crucial detail: we can't move our asses out of here without turning Kobi's ass into a ham!"

"Well it looks like the girl disagrees with you."

"What do you mean?"

"Look at her."

"Why- I was just checking a minute ag- Oh."

The girl was still holding her flashlight, but now she was pointing it at something above their heads. He looked up and saw a train car hanging on a steel rope, though he didn't recognize the contraption holding it there.

"The fuck is that?"

"No clue. But that is unimportant right now. All we need to do is to make it fall down on that thing… that… is- Is it growling?"

"Yeah," Kobi confirmed, "and I didn't move from my place, like, at all. I even slowed down my breathing so I wouldn't enrage it. It really hates me."

"Yeah, who doesn't? Lucan, while that thing hanging above our heads is certainly convenient, how do you want to get it down and break its skull with it?"

"Simple: with your help."

"My help? I ain't going up there!"

"I didn't mean that, you simpleton. You're a demolition expert. Don't you have a means to shoot it down or something like that?"

"Oh that kind of help! Yeah, sure, I should have something tha- Oh, I know!" Kasper reached into his pocket again and this time he brought out something yellow and bright resting in his palm.

"A firefly."

"Yes."

Lucan looked at him with suspicion. "With all those explosives you have at your disposal and you picked a firefly."

"Ah, but not just any firefly. A Blind Bandit."

"I really hope that's just a name."

"Nope. It's really blind."

"Kasper, we don't have time for this."

"What?! This is the perfect solution to our problem. Look, these fireflies are rare and really hard to train."

"You mean to tell me you trained this thing?"

"Of course! They are really dumb. Even dumber than Kobi here. But they also have what you would call an explosive personality - they make a lot of damage upon contact."

"How come it didn't explode in your hand?"

"Because it's not flying, duh! So you want that thing to fall down, right? Then I'll just point it at the rope keeping it there and BOOM!"

"How precise is it?"

Kasper was beginning to be annoyed. "It goes exactly where I show it to go. I could send it towards a moving hoving car and it would splash against it with a smile."

"All right, I believe you. Kobi, are you ready?"

"Yes please!"

"Kasper, if you wouldn't mind."

Kasper aimed has hand at the illuminated rope and gently blew air at the little creature. As if being a leaf, it took off and started to fly in a straight line. "See? Easy."

"Excellent. Now, both of you be ready to start running."

"Running? Aren't you exaggerating a little? We just need to move away."

"That car won't kill it."

"What are you on about? Of course it will kill it!"

"A fall from 10 meters won't end its life, so I doubt this will be successful in that regard."

"You don't know that!"

"Perhaps. But she does," Lucan pointed at the girl still pointing her flashlight. "It's apparent she wants to help and that she knows this place."

"You think we can trust her?"

"Unclear, but we don't have much of a choice."

Kasper looked up. "Well, we will see soon enough. Ten seconds!"

"Kobi, we will all start running towards the girl on my mark."

"OK!"

"Three, two, one, RUN!"

They all quickly turned around and started to run away from the creature. That enraged it and it immediately began to follow them, but it managed to make only a few steps before a loud explosion was heard above and the massive train car landed on top of it. None of them dared to look back, as they believed it would be pointless. When they were approaching the gal, she didn't wait for them and started to run as well.

"Hey, wait for us!" Lucan yelled towards her, but she didn't pay any attention to him.

"Should we follow her?" asked Kasper.

Suddenly a loud and unnatural screech was heard from behind.

"There is no turning back. Keep running!"

The air inside the hallway they entered was stiff and old and kinda smelly. But all that was irrelevant to them. What mattered was the fact that they were being chased by a monster that now looked like a living nightmare. Kasper was the last one and he could hear it following them the best. It also meant he could just turn around and take a glimpse of it if he wanted.

_Left, left, right, up the stairs._

The idea of seeing its current shape had made his mind so preoccupied that he didn't notice the change of scenery. Instead of a plain tunnel they were now in a hallway with a lot of doors, and the further they went the wider the hallway got.

_Right._

He didn't want to turn back. The fact he could hear it more clearly with each step suggested it was getting closer. But his curiosity took hold of him and forced him to turn his head around, if only for a split second. That split second was more than enough to scare him to death.

"FUCK! That shit is really pissed we took its favorite chew toy and it wants it back! BADLY!"

"I can hear it too! It sounds extra motivated!"

"No shit! Do you still see the girl?"

"Yes! But I'm clueless as to where she is taking us!"

"We will find out in one minute!"

"Why one minute?"

"Because we will be dead in one minute!"

_Up the stairs and through big doors._

Now the place had turned into a wide square full of shops and vending machines. There was also a weird, blueish flickering light coming from behind turnstile, which was exactly where the girl was leading them. This made Lucan suspicious and question his decision to trust her. Whatever the case, it was too late to change his mind, and all he could do was follow the whole situation through.

They turned right to the light. With full running speed they barged into an abandoned boarding platform with a huge hole in the middle of it. Lucan saw it at the last moment.

"KOBI, TURN RIGHT AND GRAB KASPER!" Even he had trouble steering his body to the side, so seeing Kobi steering his while grabbing Kasper along the way was truly something. They were safe from falling to their deaths, but not so much from being eaten.

Not five seconds later a massive black blob beyond recognition emerged out of the darkness from behind, covered by steel shrapnel and tentacles. The creature too had the problem of staying on their tails while going after them at full speed, but it managed to attach itself onto nearby pillars to keep itself from falling into the abyss. Still, a small part of its mass did lurk over it, and that small part was enough for it to sign its death warrant.

Out of the blue and without any prior indication of its presence, a huge, nasty looking reddish tentacle appeared from the sinkhole and wrapped itself around the black creature. The creature shrieked, trying to hold itself in place, but the fight was predestined to fail. It was being loud, attaching itself to various things around in total panic, but the sheer difference in size was simply too great for it to stand any chance. After a short horrifying theater they had to witness, the blob was snatched against its will down into the pitch black.

Lucan was pointing with his flashlight at the scenario the whole time and even after it was done he couldn't force himself to move his hand away from the hole. The shock of it all took hold of his nerves, keeping him from doing anything at all.

"Well," noted Kasper, "I believe the smaller problem is gone. Can we now panic over the bigger one?"

"I- uhm," suttered Lucan.

"This place is fucked up, man. How anything with magic can exist in this place is beyond me."

His mention of magic jump-started Lucan's mind. He got back on his feet and started to search for the girl. She was the only thing he could focus on to regain his sanity after what he had just witnessed. Lucky for him, she wanted to be found. But this time she wasn't showing any sign of movement. In fact, she was standing across the chasm perfectly still, almost like a statue.

That wasn't the reassurance he was looking for.

"Uhm, OK, well, I- I think we should reach out to her here before that thing decides it needs a dessert. Kobi, are you feeling well?"

"No." His voice was weak and silent.

But Kasper wasn't convinced by his plan. "Dude, that chick is giving me creepy vibes. And that says something, considering the shit we just went through."

"I can't deny feeling a degree of… uncertainty. I'm still shaken by these events, just like you. But that wasn't our mission."

"You've got to be fucking kidding me…"

"Without purpose we are lost. More so in this uncharted place."

"All the more reason to get the fuck out!"

"That is my goal as well, but first I need to know why she brought us here. Now, follow me around this pit. Surely a few extra steps wouldn't hurt you."

Kasper mumbled something inaudible but agreed to get a move on, quite reluctantly though, as the passage to the other side was narrow and the possibility of being eaten alive very much probable.

Kobi was shaken the most, almost to the point of not being able to move from his place; a place he grew to like over the last few minutes. It gave him a sense of security, even if it was false.

Lucan, who had some problem of coping with the situation himself, needed to muster every last drop of confidence he had left to comfort him. "Look, Kobi, the pretty girl is just over there. We just need to get to her and then we will be on our way."

"I don't like her."

Kasper felt the need to join the discussion. "At least something we can agree on."

But Lucan quickly shut him off with a look in his eyes. "We will just check what she wants, nothing more."

Kobi looked up with his sad puppy eyes. "And we go?"

"Of course."

"You promise?"

"I promise."

He looked over to the girl just standing there with an unnatural look on her face. "Well ok."

Lucan grabbed his hand, though thanks to his massive body it was a mere symbolic gesture. He then turned to Kasper. "Lead the way."

"Gee, thanks."

They were moving along the edge of the pit in one line making sure not to fall down. Only Lucan kept watching the girl, than his own footsteps. She didn't appear to show any signs of movement and the flickering blue light above her was giving her an almost eerie feeling. Just before he was behind a pillar, she suddenly turned her head his way and smiled. But it wasn't a smile of a girl; it was a smile of a winner.

And as if she wasn't really there, once they got past the pillar, she was gone. He quickly approached the spot he had seen her standing. The floor was dusty, but didn't have any footsteps. The creepy feelings intensified, as did Kobi's anxiety.

"Can we go now?"

"Not yet."

Kasper disagreed. "Oh come on, dude! Now you're just being an asshole. There is nothing here!"

"I wouldn't be so sure of that. Think about it: we enter a centuries old piece of architecture, seemingly abandoned for the same length of time, and then this person appears out of nowhere and starts helping us, leading us to a specific place. This place."

"You're just making absurd connections that aren't there."

"I don't think they are. It's beginning to make perfect sense to me now."

"How convenient that your brain lit up in this place in particular."

"Your doubts are understandable. But I believe I can disperse the gloom looming over your head - with this."

"Your doohickey?"

"I'm convinced that if I'll turn it on here, it'll immediately light up."

"I want to see that."

And so Lucan flipped it on and to Kasper's surprise, and to Kobi's relief, it did just that.

"Well I'll be…"

"I believe that she wasn't just leading us out of harm's way. She was also leading us to the very thing we came here to search for."

"How's that even possible?"

"I have no idea, and just this once I'm fine with it."

"But what about the pretty girl?" asked Kobi.

Kasper nodded. "I can't believe I'm actually agreeing with him, but he has a point. She did help us after all."

"I don't think she wants to be found."

"What makes you think that?"

"Do you see her?"

"Well, no, but-"

"Then we're leaving her where she wants to be. Now, let's see what we get here."

Kasper was somewhat shocked by his response, but taking into account what happened and the place they were in, he just shrugged it off.

"Well, even though we're here, wherever 'here' is, how the hell do we know what to look for? Do you know what the damn thing even looks like?"

"Not yet. Here, hold the flashlight. I'm going to find the source."

Lucan's apparatus was definitely going crazy, but still wasn't at its peak level. Aware of this fact, he began to search the place. He was glad when the signal weakened when he pointed it towards the pit. But when facing what appeared to be a glass wall, the readings hit the ceiling.

"In there! Kasper, shine some light into it."

The light rays revealed a curious sight: toys. A lot of them, being thrown around the place in random order.

Kasper was surprised. "A toy shop?"

On the other hand, Kobi was happy. "Yay! Toys! Can I take one?"

"We didn't come here to steal useless crap, you doofus! Now, which shit in there is the thing we're looking for?"

"I'm not sure. My equipment isn't that sensitive."

"Then you better make it sensitive enough, because I sure as hell ain't going in there to search for it!"

"Wait!"

"What?"

"Go back a little. Yes, there! Do you see it?"

"See what exactly?"

"It's buried beneath all those toys, but I think I can see a small part of it peeking out."

"I see nothing."

"You will. Kobi, break the glass, please."

"Wee, toys!" Kobi broke it with quite the enthusiasm, resulting in glass shattering all over the place.

Kasper shielded himself from the spray of glass. "Not so hard, you fucking twat! You almost cut us!"

"Oopsie. Can I take toys now?"

"No! Lucan, tell me you see that damn thing."

"Indeed I do. Hold on."

He reached his hand into the pile of cushy toys. To his surprise they were in quite good condition for being hundreds of years old. But this realization went quickly away when he touched a very slick handle and felt a slight tingling sensation in his fingers.

"Got it."

And when he brought it out, they couldn't believe their own eyes.

Kobi's pupils almost dilated with glee. "What a beautiful toy!" he gasped.

What was a mere toy to Kobi, was something entirely different to Kasper and Lucan. A wide range of new possibilities opened just before their eyes.

"No. Fucking. Way. It can't be!"

"But it is! Do you realize what this means? This changes everything! We can finally make a final move against the queen!"

They were silently staring at the object in Lucan's hand. The handle was smooth, with a spiral ornament and a small crystal at the bottom. On the other side it had a star shaped crystal surrounded by small hearts and embedded in half a sphere, which had two wings attached on both sides.

Lucan was ecstatic. "The ultimate source of magic in the whole world: a magical wand!"

"But I thought there is only one and it belongs to the queen."

"I'm holding the proof that we were wrong this entire time!"

But then Kasper noticed something weird about it. "Uhm, dude? Not to ruin your parade, but doesn't it look kinda weird to you? Because to me it looks dead. There are barely any colors, just shades of grey."

Lucan clearly didn't like Kasper's remark. "It is of no consequence. We have it. It is ours. We can use. We _will_ use it."

"Yeah, sure, awesome stuff, except that we are still stuck in this hellhole. How the fuck do we get out?! We can't go back the way we came in."

It was unclear if the wand actually heard his question, or that it could even understand his question; but the fact remained that for a few seconds it regained all of its colors and shined bright as a sun, followed by lights lighting up a hallway leading to a stairway. They kept staring at the possibly most convenient getaway that ever existed. After being tired by looking just one way, they carefully looked down at the wand, expecting it to talk to them or something similar. But it remained silent.

"That didn't just happen, right?" asked Kasper, looking for moral support. "I mean, wands aren't alive, right?"

"Sentient is the word you are looking for. And honestly I'm not sure about anything anymore, except that this thing is the key to our victory. So let's just accept this offering of good faith and get back to base."

"Spooky wand," added Kobi.

They left the horrors of Warnicorn Metro behind and began to rise to the surface. The climb was quite long and exhausting, but after all they went through, this was a walk in the park. And truth to be told, they enjoyed it. After all, they had the most powerful, and most likely also the only known, weapon strong enough to defeat and kill the queen, Omnia Butterfly.

**Chapter 2 was written by Terepin.**


	3. As Above, So Bellow

Star's spoon clanked against her bowl as she took the last few remaining bites of her breakfast, a brown sugar and cinnamon oatmeal which was dotted lightly with various Mewnian fruits and nuts. It was a simple dish, one she'd had countless mornings without a passing thought, often eaten without so much as tasting it; but as she neared the bottom and scraped the spoon along the side, hearing the sliding ring of silver-against-china, she was reminded of this time just a year prior when smelling the dish that was set before her now, led her to the home she currently found herself residing in.

She had been fifteen, and the earliest thing she could recollect was a swirling, relentless darkness that swallowed everything up like octopus tendrils wrenching a ship into the lost depths of a watery abyss. There was pain. Shocks of it had come in torrents, then everything faded, vanished, as if out of existence.

When she had opened her eyes again, she found herself back in Mewni, but she didn't remember anything else before the pain. She was alone, wandering aimlessly and confused as the lights of the city streamed along the lofted magnificent buildings, guiding her to nowhere and yet filling everything with so much brightness it rivaled the evening moon and deadened the stars.

Bright moving images were cast from unknown sources up against tall granite walls, or no walls at all, hovering three-dimensionally in mid-air. They displayed the newest in high fashion or ran advertisements for the latest in aether-tech products that every Mewnian should have in their home. She had wandered for two full days, growing hungrier but unable to remember just where home was, or even who she was, other than having a conscious knowledge of her name. But she knew she was famished. The residual migraine in her mind had yet to fully disperse from after the pains, the last of it rolling to and fro, rocking her slightly dazed as she took in the world bombarding her from all around, being a part of it yet altogether feeling distant.

The morning sunrise bathed everything in a misty light. She didn't know if she was sleepwalking or part of some half-waking dream. She had followed the scent of food subconsciously. It at least, gave her a sense of reality. It was real, tangibly able to pull at her stomach, make it grumble, to move her feet in a set direction. She had walked down an elaborately-placed brick way with large well-to-do homes, all fenced in by overly ornate decorated gateways.

An older couple on the other side of one such gate had been served a freshly cooked breakfast outside by their servants. They ate on a linen-covered table beneath trees whose branches and leaves reached so low they looked as if they wanted to touch the grass at their feet. The breeze blew the limbs in lazy waves, wafting the smell of bacon and the cinnamon-sugary dish her way. Her eyes followed the sway of the tree, the sunlight filtering through in a dappled haze, her head reeling, until the world tilted and she found herself crumpled at the foot of the gate, the elder couple cradling her, helping her into their home.

Her spoon brought the last bit of oatmeal from the bowl to her mouth, leaving her awkward memory behind as Aage entered the kitchen.

"Good morning, Star," she beamed.

"Good morning, Aage, and thank you for making me breakfast."

"I wanted to make this just right for you. I've been so preoccupied with everything happening on the news reports. That school… those poor children… I'm so glad you're here and safe with us."

Aage and her husband, Aagil, were Star's caretakers. They were each nearly sixty years, but had welcomed her with open arms since finding her on the streets of Mewni. Although Star's amnesia never cleared, never truly knowing where she came from, they were happy to have her around. It was an eagerness that, over time, bordered on more than just servantly need.

"Star, promise me you'll be careful while you're out and about in the marketplace? Report anything strange?"

"You won't have to worry. I'll have my eyes and ears open."

"I don't know what we'd do without you, Star. Things seem to be getting out of hand with those… radicals."

"Aage," Star sighed gently, a glimmer of sympathy in her eyes, "don't worry."

"I know, you're right, Star. I should stop talking about it, not on today of all days. This is a special day for us. Do you know why?"

Aage's question was easy to answer, but Star didn't know exactly why the question had been asked. Aage's smile was as wide as her face could manage, the creases along the edges of her mouth looking youthful again.

"Yes, of course. How could I forget the day you and Aagil found me? Without you, I don't know where I'd be right now."

"That day changed our lives forever and we're so happy to still have you with us."

Star took a bite of the crisp bacon on the plate beside her, forgetting her manners momentarily as she spoke while still chewing.

"I just wish I remembered more."

Aage waved her hand to dismiss Star's concerns as she would a gnat.

"It's been a year now. Aagil and I wanted to celebrate by…giving you some gifts. You're sweet sixteen."

Star's eyes widened as they darted up quickly from the last piece of bacon she'd slipped into her face, surprised at the suggestion, and curious. She swallowed quickly.

"Gift? But you've done more than enough for me!"

"Oh posh, Star, don't be ridiculous. Today is a very special day!"

As soon as Star had drank the last of her juice, Aage quickly took her hand into her own, much like a friend unable to hold back any longer, pulling to guide her towards her surprise. It seemed more of a commanding grasp than Star was used to feeling, not a suggestion.

They had walked down a long hallway clothed with a velvet carpet runner. They were heading towards the bedrooms, specifically their master suite.

Star tentatively took the few steps required to cross the threshold of the ample room. It was every bit as gaudy as a cathedral, with marbled floors surrounding a large bath able to hold more than just one. Glossy purple drapery hung at every long windowpane, and a massive four poster bed rested presumptuously in the center of the room, covered in Mewni's most expensive silks.

Such finery didn't set Star's nerves on end. She was more than accustomed to lavish adornments, but the room itself made her terribly uneasy, almost sending a shiver through to her bones the few times she entered.

Aagil had been waiting at the edge of the bed.

Star jumped slightly at the unexpected touch of hands placed softly upon her shoulders. Aage squeezed gently as she helped coax Star the rest of the way into the bedroom.

The older couple brought her over to a floor-length mirror, across from which was a gilded lion-foot stool.

"Please have a seat," Aage smiled, her hands sliding down to Star's waist and ushering her towards it.

She did as she was bid and sat delicately upon the spinning stool, careful not to crease her dress nor to spin the stool as she sat. She crossed her white stockinged legs and tucked them up neatly beneath her, folding her hands into the crook of her lap. It was as if she were going to pose for a painter who would capture the nature of her innocence, the purest part of herself that she instinctively was blocking with the position of her body. She made herself smaller with the way she closed her limbs against her frame. Her eyes, large as they were, only amplified her smallness.

"Wait here," Aagil winked, his eyes glimmering with a hearty smirk of their own. "I have a splendid surprise for you, my Starling."

Star's pale cheeks took on a tint of rosey pink. "Oh, you don't have to give me anything. Just being with you both is more than enough for me, Aagil."

Aagil went to the wardrobe and swung open the mahogany doors, seeking about inside. Every so often he would peek around the side with an impish grin, checking to see if Star was still watching and waiting, the suspense building.

Star smiled in return each time he caught eyes with her, as Aage started to unzip the back of her dress. Her hands were not tarnished by work, seemingly almost too fragile for the simple task that Star could feel tracing down along her spine, raising every tiny hair on its journey.

Tilting her head, Star caught a glimpse of herself in the mirror as the top part of her dress was peeled down to her waist, exposing the creamy skin of her shoulders and the strapless, white lacy bra that wrapped around her back. The bra held her in daintily, more for the frill and lace than actual use, appearances over functionality. She felt exposed even though still covered.

The reflection in the mirror looked back at her with bright sapphire eyes. Atop her golden hair was a headband of sparkling little rhinestones. She couldn't help but feel as if the headband was incorrect somehow, that it was the wrong color or shape; she didn't know, only a fleeting feeling that something was 'off' about it, and likewise 'off' about her feelings towards Aagil and Aage.

The older couple treated her beyond well, like the daughter of a royal, fawning over her looks and amiable demeanor. Yet, they seemed to constantly be wanting more, expecting more, pushing for it with unspoken words but with hands that spoke too much. She knew this. She also knew it was her place to give this to them; as payment, out of kindness and gratitude, out of the love they gave to her that they so deeply wanted her to partake in with them. But she held back. A wrongness always crept into her mind when approached with taking those next steps towards fulfilling her duties to her keepers.

Aage had begun to comb her hair straight down her back, the brush flowing from the beginning of her scalp to the very ends of the strands in slow, steady rhythms, long and almost entrancing. She enjoyed how she brushed her, the tingling sensation it gave across her back and neck.

Once Aage had finished, she swept Star's hair back and away from her neck to leave it purposefully bare.

Star hadn't expected it, and when a question started to advance through her lips, Aagil left the wardrobe, closing the distance between each of them while presenting her intended gift, held gently atop his two palms: it was a silver collar engraved with intricate Mewnian designs covering its surface. Little teardrop diamonds hung from it all around the outside like a tiara worn up-side-down as a necklace, and at the very front and center of it was a gleaming red gemstone heart, the center of which containing a lock.

With her hair held out of the way, Aagil placed a curved finger under Star's chin, the slight pressure of it giving her the softly inferred order for her to lift her head, to expose her throat. She nervously obeyed, and he slipped the collar around her as-of-yet barren neck.

The silver shocked coldness against her skin as soon as it touched her, sending out shivers from its all-encompassing grasp when Aagil clasped it into place with a decisive _CLICK_. With the single key meant only for the deep ruby of the heart, Aagil entered and sealed the lock. The key was withdrawn, the seam of the lock gently brightening with a touch of magic before searing itself out of existence, leaving behind nothing but a pure heart orb as smooth as glass.

The collar hugged against her naked skin, never to be left unadorned again. She lifted one of her hands to touch the gorgeous thing, half smiling to herself. She knew the bitter-sweet truth that Aage and Aagil loved her, but also knew that such a gift was only granted to those most treasured by their caretakers, as special house companions, as servants intended for the bedroom.

Aagil had caught her fingering at her new collar in the mirror. It had already begun to take on the heat of her skin, the coldness fading away with the beating of her heart. He mistakenly believed she was fully adoring it.

"Ahh, my Starling, you look marvelous," he said as he returned once more to behind the wardrobe door, reemerging while hiding something shimmering and blue behind his back. "Do you know what day today is?"

She hesitated on how to accept the collar. After a short pause, which felt like several minutes to her, she realized that Aagil had asked a question she hadn't paid attention to.

She jabbered out, "I don't know?"

Aagil waved a hand to brush off her worry, then revealed what he was hiding behind his back: an elegant blue evening gown with white lacy ruffles along all of the edges. When the light hit it just so, its curves shimmered like glitter.

Star's eyes widened and reflected the light bouncing off the dress like a pig-goat stunned by the dazzling illuminations of Mewni's machinery gauges at night time. Her mouth had hung open as she uttered, "Whoooa," in a heavy whisper. "Oh, now I really couldn't accept such a-"

"You can and you will," Aage said behind her, chuckling at Star as she stood her up. The old dress fell in a silken heap as it lost its loose hold upon her body.

Star stood only in her meager bra, white panties, and matching stockings, as Aagil moved forward towards her with the gown, dancing with it as if Star herself were already inside.

"Come, my dear, and slip it on. I want to see you in it."

"It's too much. You've already given me so much," she protested, her words concealing the truth of her apprehension.

"Starling," he said with the slightest of sternness shading over his voice.

She immediately dropped her head, then upturned her eyes to look at him even while her head was lowered. Her eyes pouted towards him. He smiled once more.

"My Starling, how could I ever be mad at you?"

Aage took the old dress away as Star stepped free of it. What once was an expensive outfit was now just an afterthought to Aage. Star watched as the woman simply tossed it into the nearest trash bin like a tattered old rag. Even that, to Star, somehow felt improper, but Aagil was already placing the new gown up against her modest breasts, his hands lingering against their small curves through the thin fabric separating his hands from them.

"Step into it. I'll help you."

Star whispered a subdued "Thank you." She did not lack for manners and even though lost within the void of indecisiveness, she was nothing if not happily obedient, at least on the outside.

Aagil watched her every movement as she stepped into the fresh outfit that would become her newest uniform, his eyes resting over every bit of her exposed skin as it went back into hiding behind the latest fabric home it glided into. When she was fully within it, he zipped up the back of the gown while lovingly sweeping her hair out of the way. He bowed his head to place a kiss on the back of her neck, just above the collar.

Star was going to turn to face him, but instead he held her there, with her back against his chest. He was breathing deeper than before, she could tell, taking in the scent of the perfume remaining on her hair. She didn't know for sure, but she felt his fingers tighten on her shoulders, and that bulge in his pants pressing against the small of her back.

"Starling," he whispered down into her ear with his breath warming against her cheek, "I hope you enjoy your gift. Today marks one year that you have been with us. Since we don't really know your birthday, we felt this day would be the most befitting to choose."

"I do try to remember," she began, but was cut off.

"Shhh, don't even trouble yourself with remembering. Aage and I, we love you very, very much. You know that, right?"

He turned her finally to face him, his eyes staring into her own with an animalistic intensity that she came to recognize, and also to fear.

"Of course I do!" she nearly shouted, a newfound fear making her voice tremble. "How could I not? And I love you too, the both of you."

"Yes, yes I know, my Starling," he said with a sigh, briefly glancing at Aage who had come up behind Star slowly. A peek let Star know that Aage had a sad expression on her face she was trying to hide. It was Aage that continued Aagil's thought.

"Star, we do so love you. We were hoping that you would let us share some of that love with you at long last."

Through her naivete, Star failed to directly understand Aage's meaning and nearly panicked, thinking that she hadn't thanked them properly enough for the exquisite dress.

"Oh Aage, I apologize! I was so shocked at such a beautiful dress I-I could barely express my thanks! It is amazing! And the coll - er, uhm - necklace, is also beautiful."

"My dear Star," Aage painfully smiled, "that is not at all what I meant."

Aagil squeezed her shoulder and directed her away from Aage, towards the huge four-poster bed. "What we mean to say, my little Starling, is that we still want you to be a big part of our lives, and an even greater one. We know you're new to all this, not properly trained, and so we have been patient, very patient, but it's time now. We would truly like to share more with you, and you with us."

The weight of the realization bowled her over as if she was underhoof of a warnicorn stampede. While crossing the distance from the stool over to the bed, she knew she had a certain duty to perform, one which she had been avoiding and hadn't yet submitted to.

She lowered her head and watched her feet as they moved obediently forward, Aagil's keeping pace next to her own over the marble floor.

She had thus far let both Aage and Aagil down in this lacking area of hers, felt the sting of regret, yet somehow also knew that it wasn't right; their touches were, while perfectly legal and justified by society, simply immoral. They were unwanted despite her feelings of attachment for the couple that clothed and fed her in complete decadence. She tried, even, to make up for her shortcomings by being extra attentive to their other needs, and dutifully kept up the manor's rooms with impeccable cleanliness.

Even so, her servitude seemed to never be quite enough.

Aagil whispered behind her, "We want to make you happy. You are happy here, with us?"

She was quick to answer him.

"I am very happy here."

She put emphasis on the first words, but even as the rest had come tumbling out, she knew they were a little less than totally honest. A touch of foreboding had crept in as they made it to the bed.

Their touches had continued to seem prolonged, their praises of her work and beauty overly indulgent. She was beginning to sense that they were luring her into their desires with sweetness, pulling at the sinews of her affection for them through guilt. The conflict grew in her heart. She tried to outlast the inevitable, resistance she knew had to be put forth.

Aagil sat on the bed, grasping Star by the elbows and planting her onto his knee. Aage sat next to them, uncomfortably close.

"We only want to share happiness with you, my little Starling," Aagil sighed, his breath falling against her neck in a pant as his fingers lightly trailed against her inner knee. Aage had begun to massage her shoulders quietly.

"But I am happy…" Star trailed off.

"You're so beautiful, like the first flower of springtime and the chirp of the songbirds that found it. I'm so glad we found you."

His fingers continued to casually head northward, touching the frilly white rim of the new dress. They didn't stop there, and as Star refocused her eyes away from his hand she awkwardly put her head down into his shoulder, at a loss for a way to not seem afraid or humiliated. She didn't want to meet her caretakers' eyes as the intrusive fingertips kept stalking up under the dress, sending immediate, chilled impulses through her veins.

Aage's thumbs pressed into her shoulder blades, her palms caressing her back and petting her shiny hair. Star didn't register the massage, her nerve endings fixated on Aagil's fingers walking up to her panties. Her body stiffened. It automatically clenched to reject invasion.

His fingers were large, she suddenly became aware, as they probed along her waistline. She took a rapid breath out, not having realized she had been holding it.

Aagil perhaps registered this as pleasure, because he continued to stroke mildly around. He could feel the tenseness of her body as he held her in his other arm, placing his chin against her forehead. He rocked her gently as a child, to settle her nerves.

Star's eyelids were pressed against each other with such force they might've merged, but she couldn't let a single tear escape that was trying to well up against her eyes, sparks like miniature fireworks playing against the blackness behind her lids. Her arms she kept tucked up against her own and Aagil's chest, afraid to move, fighting the pain that incompatible emotions wrought.

Why couldn't she enjoy her caretakers' love for her and properly give back, as was her obligation? Why did the world seem wrong? She hated the fight taking place within her, she hated feeling weak, hated their intrusive touch.

"Mhmm…we love you so much," he said, almost as if intoxicated by whatever emotions were flooding him. "We want you so much."

She didn't know why the word 'love,' so placatingly spoken by her caretakers, settled her like nails to a chalkboard.

Her bottom lip sucked in under her teeth, holding back a tremble of voice, her muscles shuddering. When Aagil's finger dared to pull back at her panties, the panic sprang her into action.

"No! No-n-no!" she stammered, pushing her hands against Aagil's chest and using the force to propel her off his lap, keeping the momentum as she backed herself out of the room. She threw her words out to wall them off from speaking, so she'd not have to withstand anything they would say.

"I can't, I'm sorry! Thank you, I know you love me, but this isn't what I want."

She left the bedroom quickly, resisting the urge to run, walking down the corridor to her own room. It was a vastly longer trip than it ever had been before. Her gait was quick but different. Her inner thighs rubbed against each other as she held them more closely together than her usual stride. She could feel the residual ghost of Aagil's fingers as if he was still playing along the lip of her underwear.

When she reached her room she quickly spun to shut the door behind her. She flipped the lock closed, ready to flee to the safety of her bed; but thinking better of it, she unlocked the door again. It wasn't her place to keep her masters out. But then, she turned the lock for a third time. Her room was hers alone.

She rushed over to her bed and collapsed upon it, immediately releasing a gush of sobs into a goose-down pillow only too willing to comfort her and absorb her tears, to help silence her cries from anyone else's ears in all the manor. She drew her knees up against her chest and hugged them while she lost herself to a tearful sleep.

* * *

As a peace-offering, Aage had given her some pocket money the following morning to spend for herself. She waited outside the manor for her ride, wearing the shimmering blue gown and clutching a small pocketbook attached to her wrist. Her ride pulled up right on the hour, its sleek pearly white exterior unstained by a speck of dirt. It drove up without tires, hovering half a foot off the ground, glowing with nearly-neon light all along the underside, pale and purple.

Star waited for the rear doors to slide upwards before stepping in. The driver tipped his hat as she sat, the doors dropping back down into their places.

"Where to, miss?" the driver asked.

"To the marketplace, please."

Mewni's automobiles barely required drivers, but it was a nicety that the wealthy of Mewni appreciated.

The car floated past the manor homes, heading off towards the shopping district. Evening had descended, every building alit by the gauges of aether-tech attached to the building facades. It was like a spectacle, every building draped and covered in golden lights like Christmas trees. They were so bright and illuminating that no street lamps were truly needed, though of course they aligned all of the roads anyway. Shadows had almost no place in Mewni.

The car drove beneath the arc gates that separated each district, a red beam of light scanning through the car for contraband and permitting them entry into the market square.

With a slight bit of excitement in her step, Star exited the vehicle and handed the driver a couple pieces of silver. He tipped his hat again before clicking his heels and driving away.

The marketplace was an outdoor paradise. Everyone from the wealthiest of Mewni to the common folk could buy their wares, and wandering the brick laden streets was as much for shopping as it was an excuse to show off one's personal finery. Men in luxurious tailcoats and top hats extended their arms for their ladies to accompany them, the women wearing their own elaborate dressage and clinging to their men's arms with giggles on their painted lips. Every woman wore a necklace, each more stunning than the last, with matching earrings, bracelets, and sometimes outlandish tiaras. All things affluent had its home in the marketplace.

Only the concubines, however, wore collars. The more ornate the collar, the more prized the concubine, and they wore them with great pride. Often, their gowns would be well swept away from their necks and chests, the better to reveal them. Stars' own collar became an instant-envy of other girls. She didn't know how much it possibly could have cost, but she knew it was probably every bit as expensive as an entire wardrobe of dresses.

She absentmindedly fingered at the collar as she walked down the pavilion, only partially noticing the glances of fellow concubines eyeing her trinket. No matter her mood, the lavish expanse of lights and the live music surrounding her, along with the hustle and bustle of the happy people, always picked up her spirits.

Along the boulevard were several food vendors and restaurants catering to patrons seated at their tables. She spotted what she had been hoping to find. Willow, one of her friends who served other caretakers, was seated at one of the decorated tables directly next to an open brick fireplace, dressed in pink ruffles from head to toe like a child's princess doll. Atop the table was a tall glass filled with yellow flowers and tiny sparkling lights nestled within the vase. Unfortunately, Willow was not from a single concubine manor, so she had another of her cohorts with her. Ginger, whom Star often found to be rather stand-offish at best, dressed almost prudishly in a tight black business-like suit across from the vase.

It was rare to see one without the other.

Willow's eyes widened as she saw Star coming her way. She rose quickly to entwine her in a bubbly embrace.

"Star! It's been too long! We're so happy to see you!"

Ginger remained seated, without so much as a greeting spoken Star's way. She sipped her wine chalice with black, leather-gloved hands and smoothed the napkin on her lap.

"Hey guys," said Star, a half-hearted smile on her face.

Willow could always pick up on facial expressions right away, or at least was one of the few who cared.

"Star, what's wrong? Did something happen?" She quickly raised her fingers to her lips. "Oh, I see…you've got a collar. Oooooh…it's…sooo pretty."

"Do not bite your nails," Ginger quietly demanded.

Willow quickly removed her hand and placed it almost behind her back, as if tucking it elsewhere would help her to forget her bad habit. She led Star over to a chair at their table and insisted she sit.

Star smiled, slightly wider this time to dissuade her friend's concern, not really feeling free enough to speak with Ginger's sharp gaze piercing her like narwhal horns. Nevertheless, her emotions were getting the better of her, and she didn't want to hold them in. She came to the plaza to seek some measure of consolation.

"I just feel like, maybe this is all wrong," she began, and was quickly cut down, expectedly so, by Ginger.

"Not this again, Star."

"Listen, I'm just saying that I don't-"

Willow hung on her words while Ginger crossed her arms and huffed. Star continued.

"I don't want to be a 'female companion.'" Instantly she faltered when looking at Willow, her words blurting out more hastily, "I-I mean, maybe this isn't really _my _role in life, you know? Like, I try to serve, and I enjoy being with them, but this collar, well, it's just not my thing."

Willow tried to keep the nod she gave Star a secret from Ginger. It was enough, and Star corrected the frailness of her statement with strength. "It's _wrong_ to force this collar on me. It isn't who I am or what I want to be."

The eye roll that Ginger gave might have caused them to fall right out and bounce along the ground, were they not firmly embedded into her skull. The look diminished the intensity of Star's words. Ginger was an older concubine, nearing thirty-five years, while Willow was newly turned eighteen. The two couldn't have been further apart in their personalities.

Ginger was the property of a well-to-do business owner from the aether-tech factory district. Word had it that he was quite the heavy-handed boss at work but desired a tough, dominating concubine that would make him feel subservient in the bedroom. His son, who had recently come of age to own his own practice concubine, was gifted Willow when he turned sixteen. The son desired a very submissive female to learn with, and Willow couldn't have been more of a mouse if she tried. Although older than Star, she acted immature for her age. Ginger often had to direct her reactions.

"Well, you had better make it your thing," Ginger presented, coldly. "That collar is a part of you now. It marks what you are."

"No, I'm not a-"

"And you can't even see how good you have it. Look at that dress. Look at your headband and shoes. And while we are at it… look at the patience your caretakers have with you, how they treat you, at least by what you've told Willow. Tell me, Star, you still are a virgin?"

Willow's hand crept riskily up towards her mouth. Only an errant squint from Ginger made her whisk it away, but the tenseness of the conversation was making her squirm in her chair. She picked at the tablecloth with her fingernail.

A waiter came around to offer the three women more drinks, but Star barely was able to shake her head to decline. Her own hand reached up to touch along the edge of the collar about her throat. Hers was far more elegant than the pair before her. Ginger's was a thick solid white gold with a clearly visible lock, looking almost like a smooth iron shackle, without a single detail on its surface. Willow's was more feminine and refined, carved with flower patterns and inlaid with small rainbow gemstones, likewise solid gold but of the yellow variety.

Star felt compelled to answer, truthfully, the heavy question still hovering over the table. Something about Ginger always seemed to force the truth out from her.

"Well, I mean I'm, that is, I…I am, yes."

"This is ridiculous, Star. Your masters are saints to deal with you."

"Why should I be ashamed that I still am? Something inside me just says it's wrong for me, _for us_, to be doing this… like we're all supposed to just be ok with this, it's normal!"

"Watch your tone," Ginger warned.

"Come on, Ginger. How is it right that so many of us are just here to…"

Her sentence died in the air, and Ginger gave no inclination to finish it. Willow's chair creaked as she crossed and re-crossed her legs, unable to get comfortable. Star sought her out for any type of support.

"Willow, you know what I'm talking about, right?"

The girl's head dropped, daring a look over at Ginger between a few strands of her silken chestnut hair, but remained silent.

Star continued to press her, feeling a sense of moral right, or just stupid bravery, overtake her tongue.

"Willow, I know you said you didn't exactly like being a plaything for a virgin boy to learn on."

"Enough." Ginger patted her lips dry with her napkin, careful not to smear her red lipstick. She was remarkably attractive for her age, her hair cut under-the-ear-short and always a solid, stark blond. Not a strand was ever out of place, but her eyes were made of blue steel and could almost prick you with a glance, her voice hard and cold like the stonework holding the city together.

"…and to control you in every move you make in bed, just to please him," Star dared, even knowing her words might bite her friend too hard.

Rather than explode with anger, Ginger's voice became low and more dangerous, misdirecting Star to get her to rethink what she was feeling so impassioned to say.

"Star, do you really think they only want you as a plaything? Have you not stopped to consider that your old mistress is childless? That perhaps you have a greater purpose than you realize?"

Star fell silent. Ginger's tactic was effective, if not at least temporarily, to give her pause.

Though Willow seemed to want Star to go on despite the harsh truth she spoke, or for once to become able to speak on behalf of herself, she instead unsurprisingly said nothing, watching the exchange between Star and her colleague as if worriedly watching the ball during a tennis match.

Ginger knew she had won.

"That's right, Star. They need you. You have a greater purpose than just a sex toy, imagine that. Something for you to think about before you go hastily riling up our fellow concubines on the ethics of what's right or wrong."

The weight of the words made Star feel guilty again, even more ashamed than she had felt when running from Aagil. For a long while she refrained from speaking, watching the fireplace. Willow perked up, ever quick to try and change the subject to calm the tensions, but even she couldn't clear the air.

"I really think that dress looks radiant on you, Star. It's ever so pretty!"

Star readily engaged with the idle small talk while not being fully aware of the responses that stemmed from it. They talked about matching accessories they could buy, new shoes that would match, but as soon as they were said Star had forgotten the words. She was still back in the former exchange with Ginger, repeating the conversation in her mind as the fireplace crackled hypnotically, the flames distracting her with their dance.

At some point she caught Willow staring directly into her face, and with unexpressed words she could read in the young woman's quivering eyes, knew that she wasn't totally alone in her beliefs, nor her feelings.

* * *

Over the next two weeks, Star was subject to further encounters she had tried to bare with a long suffering approach. She had seen Aage in a new light, yes, and one she could pity, but it didn't make it right to her that she should be used as an incubator for the older woman's childless desires, if that was even her secret goal.

Concubines that did not have masters were typically the working ones in the pleasure houses, to be enjoyed by those who couldn't afford to have their own. They got pregnant, as they often did, and were taken away by the police. They were given medical care and housed, carrying the babies to term in the district of concubines, which were then raised and trained according to their gender. Females born to concubines typically were kept by their mothers to then be placed back into the concubine system, while males were taken away to be housed with other wealthy families, raised primarily for servant labor or physical work in the industrial district. There were a few exceptions for the handsomer-looking males, as not only men wanted concubines once in a while, nor did some Mewnians prefer to always have opposite-gendered concubines, but males were fewer in number than the female companions.

In Star's case though, her pregnancy would be a matter for her keepers to attend to, and they would choose if they wanted to keep her baby or not.

Class was divided only a few ways in Mewni: the incredibly wealthy high class, upper middle class commoners, and of course the concubines and industry workers serving as the lower class. Then there was the class of Mewnians that couldn't afford aether-tech, which lived in a literal darker part of Mewni. Star wasn't sure why there was such a rift between the classes, and why the rich or lucky were granted the wonders of Aether-tech and a life of privilege, while the less fortunate-born were forced to live in near squalor, on broken old technology powered by gears and steam, dirty with coal fumes and grime. It was all filth, to hear the people in the marketplace speak of such things, often in hushed whispers of disgust spat out on their voices.

Star didn't know the truth because she hadn't seen it, but a single thought had crossed her mind about what it would be like to explore the region. As unfair as her current situation seemed, was it truly worse to be there? She had pieced together from slips in conversations she'd overheard in the pavilion, that the people, while kept downtrodden, were free to eke out a living as they could. Nobody was a slave there. It was as good a place as anyone could escape in.

Such thoughts had grown in number, even infesting her dreams, although she knew she wouldn't act on them; that was, until the day that Aagil called her privately into his bedroom.

The late afternoon brought along with it a warm breeze with the light scent of flowers. Star had been daydreaming as she stood out on her balcony, watching the clouds listing by, taking on the orangish red hue of the sun that teased them.

The shafts of sunlight reflected off the smooth jewel on her collar. Her fingers idly traced along the edge of it on her neck. She hadn't at all gotten used to the permanent accessory.

A chime rang in Star's bedroom. Aagil had summoned her.

She left the balcony and closed the floor-length window-doors, drawing back the silken drapes before unhurriedly making her way to the circular glass pad on her nightstand. She pressed a finger to it and immediately Aagil's holographic face appeared hovering in the air above it.

"Ah, Starling, there you are my beautiful. Please, come to my quarters."

"Sure thing, Aagil."

The holo-com switched off.

Star made her way through the upper floor hallway towards the master suite. Aagil had been in the bath. The luxurious smell of lavender had filled the room along with moist, humid air. Mellow harp music played placidly through the room.

He stepped out of the tub as Star opened his bedroom door, wearing an opulent blue towel around his waist for her, but nothing more.

Star paused mid-step as her breath caught in her throat. This was no usual call for laundry pick-up or for an errand to be run, and the blatancy of it made every nerve in her body fire off at once.

He sat on the edge of the marbled, smooth bricks and bid her to come to him. She didn't want her mis-step to appear obvious so she spread a quick smile across her face and came to sit with a hand's length of space between them. But Aagil smirked.

"Closer still, my Starling."

She cautiously scooted nearer and he took her delicate hand into his own. He moved it along the plush towel and up his chest. He didn't break his eyes away from her as he felt his way, directing her hand.

Star wanted to pull away. The tight feeling in her chest returned as her breathing quickened in shallow intakes of breath. She became almost paralyzed. There was nothing she could do but allow her hand to go where it was ordered, Aagil intertwining his fingers with hers.

"Enjoy this, Star," she heard him whisper pleasantly against her, his lips so close she could feel them grazing her earlobe. "Enjoy me as I will enjoy you."

He kept his hand pressed against the back of her own, training it to caress against his bare skin. She could hear his breath hitch. Every sensation she gave him was somehow good for him. The small sounds he made were like soft grunts.

They nauseated her.

Star felt like exiting her body, as if her mind could wander away while leaving her body to deal with reality, and she could escape from the moment. But it seemed to drag on, forcing her to remain in that place of anguish, a painful mix of shame and love in bitter contention with each other as the tranquil harp chords played to soothe.

When his hand finally left hers she sought to pull it back, regain personal control.

He didn't reach again for her hand but instead placed his against the nape of her neck. She was relieved only for the blink of a second, because he began drawing her in closer, directing her downward.

Heartbeats pulsed in Star's ears. They were her own, thudding hard as a doe being hunted down with nowhere left to run. She only wished she could love them like parents and not do the things which the world seemed to think was acceptable. But Aagil's violation was more than she could, or would, endure. Every finger tugging behind her neck applied a force that finally shattered her heart.

Then, as the sweat beaded over her brow and her every sinew was strained to the breaking point from fear and hopelessness, a sudden forceful set of incoherent images ripped across her inner mind. They flashed, like repetitive lightning, images she could barely make sense of, of people and places she couldn't make out, had never seen before, and yet somehow felt she knew. The emotions that hit her with each concussive visual blast was fueled with intense emotional connection.

Aagil's fingers pressed against her spine as her mind rocked. There was a floating teal ponyhead with a green horn, a woman with hair as white as spider silk, and a boy whose eyes were as deeply brown as his hair. When the flicker of the memory of his eyes focused on hers, her heart seized for a moment, her pulse an electric shock. She might die for breath.

The fingers still had her, Aagil's voice cooing; but within her mind the torrent was too much, the images starting to speed up and ignite, drawing up an inferno within. The voices of the memories called out all at once, so much so she couldn't pick out any one voice. They screamed for her, her name, crowding out her vision and flooding her brain.

With a surge of resentment, Star bucked back her head like an untamable mare. The niceness left her, replaced by charged feelings from her core. Her cheeks burned and her legs vaulted herself away.

Aagil lashed out with a viper-like grip, grabbing her wrist.

"Starling!?" he seethed, and questioned, all in the same shout.

"NO!"

He refused to let her go, standing up from the tub and not caring at all when the towel fell away.

"Star! That's enough!"

"You're right, it is!" she shouted as the flashbacks began to throb in and out of existence.

There was a harsh bellow as Star kicked into his shin, but he maintained his grip, trying to force her to yield. Aagil was surprisingly strong for his age.

Her free hand had formed into a fist, but she couldn't bring herself to connect it to his head.

"Aagil!" she cried. "Stop this! I said no! I will not be your concubine!"

Locked onto her, his hand was so large that his fingers touched his thumb around her thin arm. He sought to hold her down to listen to his reason, his voice coming out more powerfully than she had ever heard it before. The boom of it frightened her.

"Star! You live in my manor! You serve me and my wife, and it is time for you to understand just how far that goes!"

"Take your hands off me, Aagil! Please!"

Star shouted with as much anger as she was begging that he would relent.

The screaming of her own voice seemed muffled by those crammed in her mind. The voices kept calling her name, louder, over and over again. They were pulling her heart to shreds. She was losing them.

"I didn't want it to have to come to this, my Starling, but you will learn to mind me."

Aagil dragged her over to his bed, the fingernails of Star's fist cutting into her hand.

"Don't make me do this, Aagil!"

But he mistook her meaning, not feeling the pent-up tension of her free arm.

"But I must! I didn't want to do this by force but I have waited long enough for you. You will submit to me!"

She kicked his legs and tore at every piece of him she could.

Though she wasn't aware of it, two heart-shaped markings on her own cheeks were dimly carved out in light on her flesh as if branded there, sizzling hot on her skin. Her face flushed redder while her eyes clenched tightly. By the time she opened them again, the markings had waned and were gone.

She resisted Aagil as much as she tried to scrape together her broken memories, remember the voices, but it was all slipping from her grasp amid pulsing white migraine-light, her body almost like a rag doll at Aagil's mercy.

They fought along the side of the four-poster bed until, with every bit of remorse beaten back, the chocolate-haired boy's eyes pleading as they disappeared, Star launched her pale-knuckled fist with such vigorous force that it connected to Aagil's cheek with a dull muffled sound, bruising bone.

Aagil was stunned and pained all in the same moment, his eyes wide with dismay as he staggered back, looking at the one who had just struck him with utter surprise and a glint of hurt.

"S-Star!?"

She groped and grabbed, finding something heavy and hard on the nightstand next to his bed, slamming it against his head as his lips finished her name. His fingers released as he went down and she was liberated, crystals of glass smashed across the tiled floor with splatters of red.

Star looked into the floor-length mirror at the reflection before her, immediately not wanting to meet eyes with that innocent looking girl that used to have such purity, having replaced her with such violence. She broke down into tears, too mortified to show her face and continue hearing Aagil's groans as he began to fumble against the bathtub.

Just as Star made for the exit, Aage appeared in the doorway.

"What's happened!" Her eyes darted around the room, seeing the glass and her disrobed husband doubled over, blood caking the hair over his temple. "Aagil!"

The older woman went to her husband's aid, kneeling down to scoop him into her arms. He held his head and allowed her to help him up. She quickly waved for Star.

"Star, come quickly! Help me!"

But Star backed away, edging herself closer to the door.

"Star? What's the matter with you?"

"It's Star that did this to me," Aagil finally said, catching his breath and reaching for the bed's blanket with which to cover himself.

Aage turned back to look at Star, the jitter of light on the surface of her eyes about to give way to tears. She couldn't find the words but Star knew she didn't need her to confirm what Aagil had spoken. She merely looked into the girl's face, staring and disheartened, as if trying to find the reasoning buried beyond her eyes.

"Aage," whispered Star, so lightly and broken it was scarcely audible. An apology was going to flutter out, but then she reeled it back. Aage and Aagil felt suddenly foreign, as if the brief flashes of memory she'd had held her more to them than her time spent with her caretakers. "I'll not be a concubine."

"You belong to us! You are what we have you for!" Aagil exploded, requiring his wife's arms to hold him back, which she did surprisingly well.

"We-we can work this out," the older woman begged the both of them. "Please, Star, it was an accident. I understand, and we love you. We can talk this over."

"No," Star shook her head, holding up a hand to block the sight from her own view. "I have to go." She rounded the corner of the bedroom doorway.

"Star! Star come back, please!?"

Aage called out for her but they could already hear her feet pounding along the hall.

"We need you, Star!"

She fled down the curved staircase and out the double-doors, feet and heart pounding against the surfaces they were thrust upon. In her tightened chest she felt as if her heart might explode, her legs burning already from the speed she traveled at.

Arriving at the front gates, she breached through at the same moment as the tears did behind her eyelids. Her vision blurred, and the breeze flowing hard across her face turned them cold as they ran down and fell away behind her.

Star made her tumultuous way to one of the main city roadways. Many of the cars were marked for public transit and it was easy enough for her to flag down a ride, her gown being a visual indicator of a high potential fare. Her hand signal was utterly unnecessary, but as she waved with one hand she was able to brush off her face with the other, to compose herself.

A limousine pulled up curbside even before her hand had fully raised, the door auto-lifting to allow her in. She waited on the curb as was customary, though the level of her patience was strained to the breaking point. She fought hard to keep her exterior looking as casual as possible, while her insides spun around and over themselves like a ball of confused snakes tying themselves into knots.

The driver exited the driver side and bowed, extending a hand to assist her into the back before tapping the door for it to auto-close.

Star directed for him to take her to the pavilion.

Her chest heaved as her heart hadn't yet settled down along the way, and once in the marketplace she thought the stress of it all would crumble her. Despite her desire to appear as casual as any of the shoppers or restaurant patrons, she couldn't chameleon enough her charade.

People were beginning to glance her way. Their eyes pricked at her conscience without her even needing to see them.

Her pace gradually became more frantic, a series of trembles affecting her limbs. Star hoped against the odds to find her friends, and when she saw their forms near the usual stone fireplace, seated at the same familiar table and chairs, she panted hard in relief. She burst in on them, not sparing a moment for pleasantries.

"Star?" Willow asked with a stupefied expression jolted across her face. "What happened to you?!"

"I had a disagreement with my caretakers."

Ginger looked at Star with suspicion. "What kind of disagreement?" Her voice tinged with contempt. "You don't get to have any disagreements with your masters."

"Well, they aren't my masters. Not anymore."

"Star!"

"No! I- I'm sick of this place! I've put up with it for so long because I was grateful for all the good things they did for me. And I still am. But my gratefulness has its limits and no amount of '_kindness' _will erase the fact that I'd still just be their plaything, forever."

The experience filled Star with newly found energy, as if she couldn't be stopped by anything, or anyone. There was something oddly familiar, welcoming, about the sensation. "With that being said - I am leaving! I'm leaving the manor, I'm leaving them, this life…"

"And me?" asked sad, puppy-eyed Willow.

"That depends. Will you go with me?"

Star's words might well have just been spoken in a foreign language, the shocked looks of confusion dropping even Ginger's often clenched jaw. A sharp whimper escaped from Willow like a rabbit caught up in a snare. And while Star enjoyed her newly found inner strength, Ginger was appalled by it. She was always comfortable in her dominant position and this sudden change in dynamic caught her off guard.

"How dare you." Ginger couldn't allow for Star to see her shaken, so she kept her calm, frigid voice. "You might have decided to ruin your life and your future, but that doesn't give you the right to do the same to others."

If anything, that made Star even more sure of herself. "You mean the future of an obedient sexual puppet? That kind of bright, happy future?!" Without realizing it, her voice had gotten louder. "I'm leaving!"

"Sit down, Star, you're beginning to make a scene."

"I will not sit down!"

The patrons in the restaurant startled a bit at the shout, pretending not to look towards their table while obviously stealing glances, distracted by the sudden outburst and curious if it would continue.

Ginger acted as if she didn't take notice but Willow shrank a size while sitting in her chair.

Star persevered in her firmness but with a lower tone. "I won't be a concubine to be used. I don't want to be used by them or used at all anymore!"

"Ohhh snap a collar on you and the victim suddenly becomes a martyr too," she muttered beneath her breath with a haughty air.

Willow fidgeted with her pearl bracelet, spinning it around and around her wrist as she listened, afraid of the flicker rising in Ginger's eyes. She knew any misplaced word now could trigger her rage, yet was almost hoping for Star to tap just the button to do so.

"You don't know what a small price to pay it is, Star."

"My body is a small price?"

Ginger's gloved finger rose to stroke her chin. "Absolutely."

"Maybe I'm glad not to see the world the same way you do."

This was a new Star that Ginger had never seen before. She narrowed her eyes as she sipped on her wine, then set the glass down purposefully slow, as if to build insecurity in her or test her resolve.

"And… how do you think I see it, Star?"

Star sniffed, stalling for time, unsure how to respond but sticking out her bottom lip, her fists balling atop the napkin on the table she was leaning against.

"I-I guess I see someone who… who just gave up and accepted some fate somebody handed to them! You're afraid to fight for anything different than-than your brainwashing!"

The deep brown eyes of Willow opened as large as the empty dinner plates on the table before them. One of her hands had wandered up to her own chin, her teeth nipping at her pink fingernails. Ginger's eyes were fastened squarely onto Star's, allowing Willow time to succumb to her obsession. Her nail polish was chipping but she didn't notice, absorbed on Star's every word, her own breath taking long drawn out pauses as if afraid to steal the air between the two.

Ginger's reply had a brief glimmer of frustration. "I see. Well then, Star, when are you leaving?"

"Tonight. Right now. I don't want to ever go back. No, I WON'T go back."

"Mm-hm, and empty-handed no less. That's a rather bold plan."

The older woman uncrossed her legs and stood, leaning over the table to shrink even further the distance between them. "If you are leaving the security of the manor to find a new life, dressed in what you are now, where will you go? To the lower parts of Mewni, I suppose, with the dregs? Considered how you might stand out in that particular crowd?"

Star didn't know what manner of beast within caused her to directly rival Ginger over the table. She was far shorter than her, but she upturned her jaw just the same, facing her down in a way she simply could never do before.

"I'll make my own way, but you're both free to come with me. We can do this together, don't you see, Ginger!? You don't _have_ to be a slave because society says you have to!"

Willow's heart pounded hard in her throat against her collar. In Star's voice she heard her own hope.

Ginger leaned back and released her grip on the table. "Oh Star, I am no slave, and neither are you. Come with me."

Star raised an eyebrow, looking at Willow who shook her head, shrugging her shoulders at the puzzling response.

Both women followed behind Ginger as she led them into the restroom. The bathrooms were excessively extravagant, covered in black marble with golden veining running throughout, the sinks carved out of white alabaster like swans.

There was one patron within the stalls. Ginger removed her gloves one at a time, placing them methodically on the sink counter in order to wash her hands, lazily, while the other two stood by with quizzical looks still stuck on their faces. The patron came out, re-applied her lipstick in the mirror, brushed a stray hair behind an ear, then smiled at the trio of women before exiting.

Ginger locked the bathroom door behind her and spun to face Star and Willow.

"I want you both to see something."

She began to strip, unzipping behind her neck with raised arms. Her fingernails were painted a perfectly-laid crimson, Star noted, having never seen them before. When the fabric was free enough, Ginger slid the topmost part of the suit down off her shoulders, and further still to expose herself, not even a frilly bra there to pretend to hold her figure in. There she stood without humility, under the strong, sterile lamplights surrounding the bathroom mirror.

Willow turned partially away in a nervous blush while Star wrinkled her brow, not understanding in the least. But then Ginger turned around so that her back would face them.

The skin of her chest had been creamy and clean but her back was stained by reddish gash marks that had long since healed over to form ugly pink scars. They were the marks of multiple beatings, flogged from whips or canes that bit the flesh and left deep furrows behind.

Appalled, Star put a hand to her lips to cover her gasp. Willow already had hers across her own, the visual of pain making her anxious eyes do all of the cringing for her.

"Is this supposed to make me want to stay? Because it isn't helping."

Ginger slipped her apparel back up over her shoulders, zipping up the rear of her dress before turning back around. She didn't say a word to the dumbfounded duo until after she had re-adorned her hands with her gloves.

"These… scratches… are not from my master. These are my own personal reminder of… _that_ _part_ of Mewni, from the life I was rescued out of back when I was your age, Star. You're making a mistake that you'll not realize until later. It will be dire when you do, I assure you."

"I still believe we're better off there. We will never be more than property in this place, and no amount of affection from our owners will change that. Here, our fates are sealed, but down there we have a chance to change our lives, even if it is a slim one. Besides, there will be three of us." Her eyes were filling with water and unsure why. Her vision was blurring again, but she felt the need to stand firm. If she didn't leave now, she knew she never would. "Come with us, Ginger," she insisted.

"There is no 'us,' Star. If you go, you go alone." And for the first time since she'd known her, Star could hear the faintest hint of tenderness in Ginger's words as she continued. She spoke softer, almost plaintively. "Don't leave us, Star, because one way or another you won't be able to return."

A sweeping feeling of empathy washed over Star. It was so strong that she could rinse all of the nasty sneers and scathing, sarcastic comments away that Ginger had ever delivered to her.

"Willow," Star said, taking the hesitant girl's hand into her own. "It's YOUR choice, but you have to make it."

"W-well, I," she sheepishly began, then looked to Ginger for reassurance, who quickly placed her gloved hand onto her shoulder.

"Willow stays."

Angrily, Star interjected. "This is Willow's decision, Ginger. Let her decide, if she really isn't a slave!"

"She knows exactly her place and what's best for her… and the people who love her."

Star's eyes appealed to her friends'.

"Will… it's your choice alone. Come with me and you can be free, really free, not pretended freedom."

Perhaps for one of the first times, Willow was given a choice. The eagerness swelling through her was tempered only by the constant deluge of dread that filled her thoughts - that of making the wrong choice. She left her life decisions up to others, but with Star she felt that shift, the slightest touch of empowerment borrowed directly through Star's palm into her own hand. She need only take a step away from the life she knew and it could change forever.

Ginger's fingers constricted on the younger concubine's shoulder.

Willow blinked, her brief awareness of confidence, of inspiration, evaporating under Ginger's claws.

"N-no, Star. I belong here. It's safe, and we have a future here. Out there you-you just don't know. Don't go, Star," she pled, her sniveling voice trying to tug hard at her heart.

Even Ginger's face softened when she calmly offered, for a final time: "Star, stay with us. You have a place here. A purpose."

Star almost contemplated it, almost allowed the immediate looks in their eyes to gentle her, to make her back down from her passion to leave. But she shook her head.

"That's not true. Maybe that purpose is down there and maybe it isn't… but I know one thing for sure: it isn't here."

Ginger's eyebrows wrinkled as her former veneer returned full force, her coarse attitude gliding back into place like the winged doors of the limousines, encapsulating once again the scant emotions that she unintentionally had let slip. She unlocked the restroom door and swung it open with a single arm, the other still clasping Willow; and she held it open, nodding Star's way without paying her a second glance.

"Don't let the door hit you on the way out."

Willow reached out towards Star but she had already begun to exit.

As Star swung the door behind her she felt an immediate, sharp pang of grief, knowing she'd probably never see them again and that Willow's fate was sealed by her own resignation of self doubt, a feeling Star had only just freshly tore her own self away from. And yet, a hint of doubt still remained, barely allowing her to take a few steps from the door before it felt like a painful slog through reconsideration.

She struggled not to look back.

But the outside world took some form of mercy on her. There was a commotion building in the distance, breaking her free of the heaviness of her thoughts. People's voices went from startled guffaws to outright screams, one of the marketplace shops seemingly being torn apart by something that she was too far away to see. She could only hear dull trudging groans as if coming from a demon bull, and saw the direction everyone's heads were turning. She saw a whirlwind of fabrics tossing wildly as if a tornado had hit a wardrobe.

An angry, garbled voice roared over the growing din.

"There's a fucking maniac on the run! Save yourselves!"

The patrons, who hadn't much nerve to begin with, least of all after being on edge due to the school attack, didn't stand by to crane their necks. Instead, they immediately flew into a panic as if they were a mass of chickens beset by a fox in their henhouse. Every direction they flew, knocking over stands of goods and crashing through the floating musical instruments. One into another they collided, overturning tables and clutching their purses and jewelry, many falling to the ground just to be stumbled over themselves.

Star had no sooner taken a breath away from the bathrooms than she was swept away in the current of people, forced to run or be run down. Nobody even knew which way to turn. She looked back over her shoulder towards the restaurant, to see if Ginger and Willow were behind, but there was too much pushing and shoving, flailing limbs, and yelling from that same angry voice herding them away from whatever it was trashing the pavilion.

"Run, just run!"

She thought almost that a hand had reached for her from behind, felt the scratch from nails, but she kept going, bodies pressing against bodies.

Sounds of breaking glass behind her and high heels tripping over pavement on either side helped to steer her towards the great fountain. There, she was nothing more than a blond spec among the throng, nobody paying her the least mind.

Despite the crazed and possibly dangerous situation, she was thankful that through all of it, she'd be able to escape right out from everyone's noses.

**Chapter 3 was written by SledgePainter.**


	4. Within the Walls

Piano keys were being taped without fingers somewhere in the marketplace, along with the strings of a lute playing itself. The song was pleasant, like the first warming breeze of Spring kissing goodbye chilled Winter days. Some men and their ladies danced.

The music, the sounds of people buying and selling their wares, the clatter of silverware against plates from outdoor restaurants, the happily laughing women, all had been a comforting presence that surrounded Star in an embrace all its own every time she was able to travel to the square. But now, all of the to-do became a single merged unwanted din to her ears, and none of it at all as comforting as before. It was a cloud of chaos that she was intent on escaping as quickly as possible.

She rushed past a couple of other concubines, accidentally bumping into them and nearly tripping on her long shimmering gown.

Star stammered an incoherent 'So-orry!' not sparing them a glance. But with the jostle of the crowd, nobody heard much of anything and didn't take the time for pleasantries towards the people they knocked into. She kept her eyes forward, her feet run-jumping, as fast as they could carry her out to the front of the pavilion where a great marble fountain marked the place of transit.

The fountain was an entire story tall, with jets of water constantly surging out from the horns of a dozen floating stone-faced pony heads encircling around its base. The water danced with an array of colors; it shifted hues as it traveled through the air before diving back into the fountain, only to rain down like a multicolored waterfall into the holding pool below. It was a portrait of calm nestled within the chaos.

Cars hovered around the fountain as they speedily pulled up curbside to take on their passengers. Valets got out, still taking a brief moment to bow to their fares as they hurried inside the magical vehicles. Some of the vehicle doors opened up like the wings of eagles, while others slid up or away on invisible tracks.

Without pause Star waved down one of the drivers, jumping into the humming machine as soon as the door had opened wide enough to allow her to squeeze through.

"Where to, miss?" asked the surprised driver. "Reports are coming in of a monster in the pavillion?"

She barked like a thief that was trying to make a getaway from the scene of a crime.

"I don't know, just drive to anywhere, just not here!"

"Excuse me, my lady?"

The driver furrowed his brow, unsure that he'd been spoken to in the manner that he'd heard, and doubly unsure if the panic residing in the young woman's eyes was simply due to the lights from the aether-tech gauges reflecting therein, or if she truly was in need of some kind of assistance. He wasn't certain whatever was happening in the marketplace wasn't just a publicity stunt of over-hyped drama. He had been so startled from the speed at which he took on his new guest that he couldn't be sure if maybe he was seeing in her face, or hearing in her voice, things that weren't there.

He got into the vehicle and adjusted the mirror to better see his frazzled, but elegantly dressed, passenger, almost ignoring all others, or at least the notion of panic in the area.

"Uurm, that is," Star quickly worked to calm herself, giggling lightly back at his questioning stare, "…that is to say, anywhere away from all of this commotion!"

She exaggerated breathily, fanning her hand in front of her face for effect. She hoped, secretly, that she wouldn't actually pass out while she tried to relax her racing heart.

"It has made me dizzy, with all the lights and sounds."

"Ah, I understand, miss!"

The driver tipped his hat to her in the rearview mirror while his face once again took on a calm rosy exterior, his mind returned back to its ignorant cradle of worriless, wealthy Mewnian peace. He drove around-about the fountain and began to head away.

"A pretty lady like yourself needs to take a bit better care not to become overwhelmed. It is lovely though, isn't it, Mewni at night? It could easily make someone less accustomed to traveling faint just from the sight."

He had noticed her collar, and began to head towards the concubine district, presuming that the market square was all new to her, and that she'd been sorely out of her element.

"You like a water, miss?" he asked, pushing a button on his console before awaiting a response.

An armrest lowered itself next to her. The top portion of it drew back into itself, a small hidden platform elevating up a more than ample liter bottle of clear, cold water. Within the bottle was a single frost-glow orb, resembling a golf-ball-sized blue marble that constantly emitted an icy chill while wet, fading in and out with almost breathing neon light.

She shyly took hold of the glass bottle in her hand. It misted over her face and hands when she cracked the top open to drink. As she sipped the refreshing liquid, she realized just how much she truly was grateful for it, wiping a bit of sweat from her brow. The large bottle continued to spill a foggy vapor out the top even when she had stopped drinking.

"Thank you," she said.

The heartbeats in her ears finally began to slow down as her breath did the same, looking out the window and seeing that the night had indeed come on rather quickly. The marketplace was so far in the distance she felt she could let her nerves relax just a little.

But in the absence of adrenaline her thoughts began to take over, hissing sentences from the depths of her mind as if they slithered out from the mouths of the nameless people in the square, and all at once. They were demanding answers, shouting with countless fingers pointing her way, volleying doubts against her back while they clawed at her resolve.

_How could you leave your caretakers that loved you so? Look at your fine dress, your collar, your headband. How could you ever leave your only friends behind? Willow's heart will break. Can you live with knowing they suffer in silence as you go free? Don't you know your place?_

Worse still, she wasn't sure where her new place would be. Concubines had keepers or served in the pleasure palaces. It was wholly unacceptable in society for a concubine to live on their own.

The voices persisted: _Why are you so selfish in thinking that there is a better life than what you had? What are you even good for?_

She pushed through her reservations, through the newfound fear that was making her fingers tremble; they clutched the water bottle harder. Did she really deserve anything better or should she have just been thankful for what she had, especially since she would now lose everything she'd ever known?

She refused to go back. There was only forward, no matter the cost, or where it led.

It was all Star could do to keep her head against the limousine's window, trying not to allow the quiet rumble of it to allow those thoughts to enter in again. A slight line of light passed over her, waking her from her troubled reverie. The arc gate scanner had passed through the car, signaling their entry into the concubine district.

"Wait, driver? Can you take me to," she hesitated, leaning forward in her leathery seat; she knew she couldn't ask to be dropped off just anywhere, and especially not directly on the outskirts of Mewni; instead she offered, "erm, to uh, the industrial district?"

"The industrial district? Are you quite all right, miss? What would a pretty thing like you be doing down in the industrial district?"

"Oh, it's where my uh, client is I need to see."

The driver narrowed his lips, remaining quiet a while before tilting his head back to speak, without taking his eyes from the road.

"Forgive me, my lady, but you're not exactly dressed for being in that district, if I may be so bold to say."

Star knew he meant to say something regarding the lower classed workers not being able to afford a concubine of her caliber, but to his credit he did rephrase the question in a way that was palatable for the ears. She played the game.

"Well, this is a very special occasion for one of the factory owners. It's his retirement party."

"Ah, my apologies! Say no more," he said with a knowing wink.

Star had never even come close to descending into lower Mewni. She was used to being able to see the sky overhead, with its wispy clouds and occasional advertisements, the colorful array of birds that sang cheerfully in the gardens, and the lush planted trees and shrubs dutifully placed all around for decor. But as the driver drove she saw less and less of the sky, fewer instances of green and other bright colors. The open air and pretty sights of upper Mewni were slowly replaced, covered over by pillars and support structures, multiple bridges and stonework, all completely enveloping everything overhead.

The vehicle drove down the many sloping layers of Mewni that squeezed out natural light, heading deeper and deeper into the lower parts of it. As Star watched out her window she was confused and amazed at how different the worldview became, and how surrounded she was by architecture on all conceivable sides. The wealthy of Mewni simply built their world on top of the former, poorer structures, lower Mewni serving merely as the elite's groundwork, forgetting and ignoring the downtrodden, literally concealing them from sight.

They continued on for the better part of an hour until they arrived at the industrial district's arc gates. The vehicle hovered along the roadway which became less fancy of inlaid flagstone and instead more like cobblestone. The buildings in the district, even though roofed-over by other buildings and roadways above them, were far taller than any of the grand manors Star had been used to seeing, which said a lot. Even though the factories were meant for the inventing of future aether-tech, their lofty exteriors were spotlessly clean, like palaces that hadn't yet been adorned by splashes of color from an artist's brush. Their outsides were lit all around and gave off a very sterile, almost medical building vibe. Smokestacks coiled around the exteriors and rose upwards, disappearing into the city's framework beyond Star's visibility. Somewhere higher in upper Mewni they emerged, spewing various colorful plumes out that, during the daylight hours, would appear as if they were manufacturing rainbows.

When they had gone far enough down, Star signaled the driver to let her out in front of one of the factory buildings. She had chosen one that looked both a bit more regal, but which also had the least amount of people milling around. Luckily, even though the laborers worked at all hours, designing and developing twenty-four-seven, there were fewer workers around during the dinner hour.

At least she would have that as an advantage, she thought, as she got out of the vehicle and tipped the driver with the few pieces of silver she had left in her small handbag. As the vehicle hovered away she sighed at the emptiness in her purse, then started the long walk through the industrial district, keeping her head down and trying not to attract anyone's attention.

The industrial district was the last vestige of what would be considered proper Mewni. Wealthy Mewmans wanted as much separation between themselves as the poorer Mewmans, and the factory buildings served as a suitable buffer zone between those that could afford aether-tech, and those that could not. Going further was something inconceivable.

Quietly, she followed along roadways that crept ever downward.

Eventually the factories began to lessen in stature and number, the cobblestones giving way to flat grey cement, devoid of any character or warmth. The further Star traveled on its drab surface, the more pock-marked and fissured it seemed to get with lack of upkeep or care, and the more out of place she appeared among the changed landscape.

There wasn't a single road in the Mewni she was acquainted with that wasn't bathed in aether light; but in this strange subterranean Mewni, there was a shortage of streetlights and lights coming from the very buildings themselves. The sparkling gauges covering every surface were not present. Any light at all came from fogged windows from the insides of the buildings. Instead of fine marble and well-maintained clay, the buildings were crafted from bricks and mortar, left almost forgotten by time, covered with cracks and grime.

"So dark," Star whispered to herself. She wasn't used to nighttime not being lit up enough to compensate for daylight, especially in a place completely enclosed with buildings that didn't feel the touch of the sun. "Well, everything should look better by tomorrow," she hoped, finding comfort in her own thoughts as she slowly followed what little light she could see until it cast her shadow long behind her. The light steadily increased as she got closer, finally coming up to a gateway of a kind she'd never seen before. She could only guess which type of gates they were, presuming them to be aether-driven due to their incessant glow, with a hue like cherry blossoms.

The aether-gates were large expanses of humming, pinkish light that stretched like a rippling transparent barrier, as if water could be controlled and held in a wall-like vertical plane so thin you could see through to the other side, albeit murkily. The barriers were wide enough to allow the width of a car, like arc gates, but it wasn't simple light beams that scanned passengers going through. The forcefield was a solid plane of magical current preventing all physical entry unless the field itself was disabled by the guards.

She'd only heard whispers of their existence, which prevented lesser-classed Mewmans from passing into zones meant for higher-classed citizenry… by force. The rumor was that touching the forcefield beam meant instant debilitating shock which would render the victim unconscious, or worse. A solid wall was built high enough on either side that they were load-bearing to the many countless floors higher above. There was no way to get further below in Mewni except by aether-gate access.

Star stood there, transfixed by the swirling patterns reaching from one side of the gate to the other. It was a pretty light, and stood out as much as her attire compared to the drab, crumbling surroundings.

There was a guard posted at each end of the beam, and a panel inset on both metal pillars behind them that cast out their portion of the glowing aether-shield. It wasn't long before the pinkish barrier-light caught her gown and sent a dazzling display of sparkles into the dull eyes of the guards, stealing away their attention. They locked onto her, their chuckling words cut off mid-sentence. Confusion from both sides kept the silence in the air palpable for a lengthy minute, before one of the guards finally spoke.

"You there, miss!"

Star visibly shuddered from the shout, bracing for further word impact. She scrambled for thoughts on how to convince the guards to let her pass. To her dismay, the guard that had spoken softened his tone and ushered a hand wave for her to come forward.

"Come, come. Don't be shy."

Star didn't want to appear as if she had the backbone of a mouse, so she stiffened her spine and walked forward with intent. She made a conscious effort to keep her chin up and her footsteps purposeful, her eyelids not overly wide as if she would bolt at the first sign of her pan unraveling.

"Not often we see a beautiful woman like you in these parts," the guard said. "This gate will take you down into the Alleys. Is that where you're headed?

Star had never heard of the Alleys, but she acted like she'd been there countless times.

"Yes, of course."

"You have the Gate Allowance?"

At this she hesitated, looking to the other guard, who offered, "The Pink Slip," which didn't help her one bit towards acknowledging whatever it was they wanted. She looked through her empty purse for the imaginary pink slip that she was pretending should be within. Her fingers ruffled the bag's interior aimlessly while her mind sought for excuses, her heartbeat starting to put an edge on her nerves.

"Ehh, you have it?" the first guard asked, his eyes captivated more so on her chest and dress than the charade she was desperately attempting to pull off, looking through her bag.

"No, I'm sorry. I must have left it in my other bag. Could I still pass? After all," she quickly chuckled, "I wouldn't want to be here if I didn't have a reason."

"I dare say not!" the guard laughed. "But, even so, if you got business down there, I need some sort of ID."

She fumbled and stopped looking through her purse, turning her eyes up to him.

"I don't really have anything other than the pink slip… it had everything on it I needed." She looked down, fluttering her eyelashes and sighing as if she might cry. "But it took a while to get down here. Don't make me go back all that way back just for the slip. I have business I have to do and will get in trouble if I don't get it done."

The second guard shook his head. "We can't let you pass without it. I would, and he would, but it's our jobs on the line, sorry."

Star looked past the guards at the control panels behind them. There was no way for her to run behind one guard, hit whatever button it was to remove the forcefield, and then get through. The button had to be pushed at each panel at the same time, by each guard.

"I insist you let me through. If not, perhaps your jobs will be more at stake than you realize."

She felt her nerves gather up like a cat on the hunt, all pretense towards acting pitiful dropped, as she debated such dodgy actions. She realized it would be foolhardy to try, but was prepared for a last ditch effort. She took a few bold steps towards the aether-field.

"Hold on, there." The first guard stepped away from the panel.

Her eyes took note of the gap, the opportunity she could capitalize on.

Slowly, the guard reached out towards her. Her first reaction was to shy away, but she didn't, still putting on the front that she was supposed to be there and not illicitly trying to get into lower Mewni.

His crusted, fingernailed hand brushed the hair aside from her white neck, meaty fingers tracing along the collar.

"Who sent you down here?"

"My caretakers; who else?" she replied, matter-of-factly, gauging the distance between the guard and the panel, and the secondary guard and his panel across the way. Her stance widened ever so slightly.

"And who might they be, miss?"

The first guard's eyelids rose, his hand stopping in a shocked fashion as his eyes saw the engraved seal on the fine collar which belonged to Aage and Aagil. He quickly stepped back towards the panel.

Star's heart sank as she saw the window of escape closing, but the guard hit three buttons on his control panel, giving a hand signal to the other who, after a hesitant pause, did the same.

All at once the glowing barrier sucked back into itself on both sides, leaving the way open to her.

"Sorry about that, miss, but I have orders. You understand."

Star blinked, uncertain what had just occurred, while her feet carried her numbly forward. It took her a moment but she said, "Thank you," as if the exchange she'd just had never carried with it the least bit of concern to her.

The second guard walked over to the first to discuss what that all was about. There was a questioning look on his face as he immediately pulled a small monitor and keypad device from his pocket and finger-punched a bunch of buttons.

"Wait a second," he said.

But Star didn't wait, pretending not to have heard them. She scanned the area for where to go next, and quickly. She wanted to put as much distance between herself and the guards as possible before they realized anything was amiss. She took as many turns around bends she could, easily losing her own sense of direction as she sought mainly to get away.

The second guard had pulled up an image of Star. In moments, they sprang into action.

When Star thought it was safe to slow her pace and regain her breath, she heard the thunder of a pair of heavily boot-clad feet pounding towards her direction. The guards were yelling for her to stop.

She did the opposite, taking a deep breath and pushing her legs harder.

"We found her," one of the guards was yelling into a communication device on his wrist. "She's heading to the lower jurisdictions!"

The place she was in was hardly enough of a labyrinth, but finally she came across a single door without a handle, a grubby light fixture alighting it in a hazy glow as if it was a focal point of the area. There didn't appear to be any other place to go. Even the walls seemed to funnel her towards it.

The door automatically slid back into the wall to give her entrance, a ping sound buzzing dolefully in her ears. It was a type of elevator, she knew, but this one was walled in on all sides and only had one direction to choose from – down. There weren't even floors to select. The type she was used to would hover to their destinations, enclosed by sheer panes of glass you could see through on all sides, and were not limited directionally; and as she stepped into the belly of the box awaiting her, with no other choice, the claustrophobic atmosphere creeped over her shoulders like a cape of foreboding gloom.

She saw the two guards down the wide hall. They caught sight of her the same moment as she did them. They stormed forward, but couldn't cover the distance fast enough before the elevator door slid closed.

The interior was greasy, every surface covered in an unknown stain from an unknown source, each splotch competing against the other for maximum coverage as they crawled up the walls. The floor was metal and long since scraped to a perpetually dirty state, caked in sticky grime. The slight rank of ammonia also filled Star's nostrils while the single green light inside flickered like a dying lightning bug.

The box lurched her downward fast on creaking cords, her stomach keenly feeling the effects of the janky travel. Thankfully though, the ride wasn't long. She was grateful, for fear at any moment the box holding her would come to a screaming halt due to the guard above hitting any switches to trap her inside, but it never occured. It bounced a couple times, as if deciding whether to continue, or perhaps to return back upwards, and it made her stomach sea-sick.

Then the box hit the ground like a giant falling on its rear.

The doors opened after what felt like an eternity. Star practically jumped out of it and into the open.

Even the air was different in lower Mewni. It wasn't crisp and clean but almost had a taste to it Star couldn't quite identify. It was like oil mixed with dirt. She could practically feel it adding another layer onto her bare skin.

Unlike the last place she'd been, this was an area full of decrepit buildings and streets she could easily get lost in.

The few cars there were no longer hovered but drove on tires that touched the ground; and they didn't have steering wheels, two long stick-levers with handles replacing them. Smoke and steam billowed out from pipes as they drove by, making her cough when she accidentally inhaled it. She almost didn't recognize that they were cars at all, so different they were in appearance to the sleek, flawless elegance of the limousines she was used to. They were haggard, broken down sheet metal things held together with gears, rivets, and possibly even prayers to the Great Stump.

There were only a few people around, but they were enough to raise the hairs along the back of her neck whenever she met eyes with them. Their faces seemed always to have a smear of dust while their bodies were noticeably gaunt, so scrawny and thin they couldn't possibly be eating three meals a day.

And the way they dressed, if she even considered it 'dress,' was nothing like she had ever seen before. Men and women tended to wear fingerless, knitted gloves with loose threads poking out every which way, while their shirts and coats were so age-worn she wondered if they were the only coats they had ever owned in their lives. Shoes were not polished but were scuffed, dresses were ruffled but tattered and patched, no stocking had a lack of ladder-like runs, and their hair was unkempt as if a perpetual wind had blown them out of place, or perhaps they didn't even have combs.

Star had heard rumors that the poorer Mewmans didn't have aether-tech, but she never believed such wild stories. How anyone could live without it, her brain couldn't even fathom. Yet, she saw only gearworks and pipes, steam-powered locomotives and devices she couldn't put any sort of name on. Nothing at all glowed of magic.

"Not all technology has to be magic. I can do without… I think."

While she walked aimlessly, spinning around as if a visitor in a foreign land, or perhaps even another dimension, out from the alleyways crept a few gloomy figures. The evening had drawn on and even though Star wasn't immediately aware of it, the streets had emptied of the few citizens that had been milling around, leaving her quite unattended.

The shadows watched Star like a pack of wolves, sizing her up as they would their prey. The dress she wore caught their fancy first, its glistening sapphire drawing their eyes like hypnotized moths to flame. There were no bright colors in the lower part of Mewni, since it was covered in neutral, cheerless tones, typically spattered in soot. The flash of blue made her garment stand out as if she were the only color against a backdrop of blackened coal. From her glittery headband down to her shining shoes, she was untarnished even from walking along the dirty pavement. Her skin hadn't a stain, and the collar around her neck was a flawless red gem, making them lick their lips with greed.

Star didn't pick up on the fact that she was being followed right away. The sights distracted her, each glance this way or that bringing her even more insight into the abysmal, claustrophobic world that poorer Mewmans were forced to live in. It appalled her to the core with each passing second she took it all in, her nose wrinkling from the dust in the air. So much of the stories she had heard through haughty whispers had turned out to be true after all. Seeing it come to life, she wished it weren't so.

Along a row of tightly packed buildings, while she peeked into some windows so caked-up she couldn't even see through, she thought she caught movement from the corner of her eye. Something, or someone, had darted back around a corner. There wasn't enough light anywhere for her to see by, so she wasn't completely sure if she'd actually seen something or not. Too much of this Mewni was covered in darkness.

"It's all right, Star," she whispered to herself. "This is fine. Your mind is just playing tricks on you. Not used to all this dark is all."

Star had never known true nightfall. She only knew a Mewni bathed in so much light that night was relatively equal to the day. She hadn't known that darkness could have its own ominous feeling to it either, except maybe in bad dreams or somewhere in her distant memories. But where she tread now, even the darkness seemed to have a skittering life of its own, and she didn't enjoy feeling the crawling threat of it simply due to a phenomenal lack of lights.

She knew she needed to find some place to stay for the night. Some place safe.

Her shoes clicked against the cement as she carried on with a bit more speed in her step. They almost echoed against the squished-together buildings, the streets were so narrow and vacant; that, or another pair of footsteps mimicked her own, she couldn't tell.

"I can do this. No biggie, just dark, and I'm not afraid of the dark. I can do this, chin up…"

One building crushed right up against another, leaving very little space anywhere between. They all looked fairly the same, save one in particular that stood out from the rest, tucked in-between two ramshackle houses. She couldn't tell if it was a business or a house, since there didn't appear to be any district separations to keep the two zones apart, but it was larger than the others, and more well lit inside.

The structure had two stories of multiple windows along the sides, glowing a warm amber in the evening, full of fine reddish drapes with black fringe. It even had small white pillars out front and a modest matching staircase, leading up to wooden double doors more well kept than the rest of the building. It was the most welcoming thing Star had seen yet and she headed its way. If nothing else it was familiar, in a stylish kind of way.

"You look a might bit lost."

Star visibly jumped from the voice that sidled up suddenly behind her. She whirled around to see a woman of maybe twice her age, but whose face was as lean as all the rest, the wrinkles of stress and poor diet adding more years other than were true. Her dirty-blond hair was covered in a threadbare shawl, hooding over it to keep it in place.

"Uhm, well, I am a bit new around here," Star admitted.

"A bit new indeed," the woman replied between a few chipped teeth.

Star wasn't sure of the scrutinizing look on the woman's face, but the way in which she repeated her own words set her more on edge than before.

"Yeah, getting a little late so I'm just looking for a place to sleep for the night."

"Ahh, looking for a place…"

The woman squinted and looked her over as if studying a machine to find out what makes it tick, enjoying the exterior of it all the while. Her eyes seemed to flit between Star's dress and her collar, requiring a force of will to meet eyes with Star's own.

"You're not a girl from these parts."

It was a statement, and spoken with a gleeful jeer. Star wanted nothing more than to get to the building.

"Just visiting, yep. Taking in the sights, and it's getting late sooo..."

"You're from up there, aren't you," the woman continued to speak, not a hint of question in her voice. "You're a long way from home, lass. Someone surely is missing you… someone who would be willing to pay dearly to get you back."

Star didn't know where to turn. She took a few steps backward, excusing herself with a nervous chuckle. "I'm sorry, it was nice to meet you but I'm very tired and I really have to be going."

"And so nice to meet you too!" she whined menacingly as she kept pace with Star, edging forward. "Say, you said you wanted to find a place to stay for the night, yes? I can help with that bit. Why not come with me? I have a right nice place for you."

"Thanks, but actually I'm heading over to…"

"To where, my finely dressed lady? Wouldn't want anyone to hurt you out here. That trinket around your neck must be worth more than most people's homes out in these parts. Such a thing could feed a family for weeks! Shame to see it stolen… shame!"

Star's feet backed up more quickly, despite her trying to maintain her composure.

"Sorry, I have to go!"

"Oh lassie, there's really no hurry. Come with me, I insist!"

Star backed up to the end of the walkway curb. When she stepped into the street, a pair of feet thunked heavily out from the shadows to cut hers off. Her back slammed into the chest of a large someone that was twice her height and almost as hard as a wall. The burly gentleman shed backed into latched onto her shoulders with two huge weighty palms.

"What should I do with her?" he grumbled dumbly.

"You take her with us, obviously, you dolt!" Her voice became shrill and high-pitched. It was grating, and it stung the ears when she yelled. But in the same breath she dropped her tone in a sickening fashion, crooning towards Star.

"Oooh, this necklace of yours."

Her cold fingers began touching the collar, working to find a clasp to undo it. They curled uselessly around the exquisite silver edges, trying to yank it off.

"Stop!" Star resisted, feeling the nails scratching hard into her neck as they tried to loop around the band. "It-It doesn't come off! It belongs to me!"

"It belongs to us now, so let us have it! Now, lass!"

The woman didn't interpret the meaning of the collar 'belonging' to its owner, and there was no use trying to explain as the two hands gripped harder in Star's shoulders, broken fingernails digging into her dress to hold her still.

"Watch it! Don't damage the goods!" the woman yelled. "That dress'll fetch us a good price too!"

She snatched the small handbag attached to Star's wrist, opening it and creasing her brow at the emptiness found within.

"What's this, nothing here?"

"Give that back!" Star yelled, and loudly, the sensation of being captured by Aagil still a fresh memory in her mind. Again she felt a heat rising in her face; but she remembered her reflection in the mirror, didn't want to tap into the part of herself she had experienced before, but her limbs began to quake.

"Time for you upper class to give back a little I'd say, girl," she said without concern for Star's force of words.

"Let me go!"

She elbowed the overhanging gut of the man holding her and jammed her heel deep into one of his grubby boots.

The man roared, his palms releasing as he hopped off his injured foot. Star saw her opening, this time making a break for it without hesitation, though her graceful shoes were not made for running.

"After her! Don't let her get away!"

The woman was surprisingly spry for being such a scrawny figure. As she shouted, she bounded after Star, managing to grab a fast hold of her wrist before she could get even three yards away. Star tried to break her bony grasp, but her hulking sidekick recovered quickly, his leg lashing out to trip her from behind. She was sent hard into the concrete, allowing the woman to regain a hold on her.

"Nice try, little princess!"

The word '_princess' _gave Star pause. It was another moment when something deeper within herself was triggered, only she had no idea why or for what purpose. Somehow, even though the witch-like face had spoken it with spitting malice, it sounded right to her ears, as if it was originally part of her name.

She was literally shaken from her thoughts, a set of fingers yanking her up by her hair until her shoes barely touched the ground. A cry of pain burst from her lips, having never felt something so harshly done to her before. She didn't know if sections of hair were being pulled from her skull, but it felt likely they were. And for the first time since she could remember, she was hurt, and in several places, the skin of her knees and elbows grazed and bleeding.

The female grabbed the sparkling headband as it slipped down her face.

"Pretty, so pretty," she murmured, transfixed by the beautiful thing in her hands.

"Let me go!"

The henchman held the squirming Star out far from his body as fright flooded her senses. She flailed uselessly around, grunting and trying to kick any part of anyone she could connect with, all the while trying to free her hair with her hands. The thick-chested thug was simply too strong a force, his fist like the jaws of a clamped crocodile. She wasn't used to feeling agonizing pain and she didn't know what else they would do to her. The glaring image of Ginger's lacerations flashed across her mind.

"URGHH! Release me!" Her voice gave way to desperation.

With the opportunity at hand, the woman snatched hold of her thrashing feet. She clenched them tightly under an arm and wrenched both shoes clear off their now-ripped stockings.

"You won't be runnin' away again, lass!"

"What're you going to do with me!? You dregs!"

The woman sneered, then back-handed Star across her mouth.

"You'll be our um, _guest_, until some of the uppers come looking for you. I'm sure their pocketbook will hold more than yours!"

She tucked the headband with the shoes covetously against her chest and barked at her cohort. "Now let's get out of here before someone hears her crying and tries to steal our prize!"

Two bright beams of light cut through the blackness around the group. With a grunt of sound, the man holding Star stiffened, his pupils becoming tiny pinpricks against it. The woman instinctually tried to hide the stolen goods behind her back. Star continued to dangle, partially dazed, unable to see past the light freezing them all to the street nor the dots of sparkles still littering her view from being struck.

A calm voice reverberated around them, sounding amplified somehow, and larger than life.

"Release the girl and put your hands in the air."

The next thing she knew, Star was dropped to the ground, the pavement coming up to meet her like a second filthy slap to the face. The man didn't need to be told twice.

The woman shouted, "Run, you nitwit!" already running away. "If the police catch you, I'm not coming back to save you!"

The man took off in the opposite direction as fast as his feet would carry him.

Star reached a hand up to shield her eyes from the floodlights. Suddenly a siren sounded. She saw colors of red and blue flashing all around. The twin beams grew larger as the growling sound of an engine increased with intensity and speed. Whatever vehicle it was accelerated towards her as if to mow her down.

She wouldn't have been able to roll out of the way fast enough if she tried, but the machine drifted sideways just as it reached her sprawled form, forcibly stopping. The lights no longer blinded her but the maneuver kicked up a cloud of street debris, and the exhaust fumes made her gag.

Her attackers had fled.

Mercifully, the driver shut down the blaring siren. She could only hear the softer rumble of the engine issuing out from the many pipes along the undercarriage. She knew it was some form of law enforcement car, but it wasn't anything she'd seen before. The front of it had only one large rubberized wheel while four smaller gear-like wheels in the rear were covered in thick metal treads, a pair on either side of a window-less carriage.

Her eyes adjusted slowly as the figure from the vehicle opened the squad car's door. Star saw his shoes first as they stepped out onto the ground. They weren't scraped-up like all the others in this downtrodden version of Mewni, but highly polished and looking new. He was tall and slender, but not from lack of eating, and his skin was a pale grey-green. Atop his head rested perfectly brushed, slick black hair that ran down to his shoulders.

His tail shut the door behind him.

Her eyes went immediately to his butter yellow spheres as the man knelt down beside her, extending a hand.

"My lady, are you all right?"

"I…"

It was her nature to take an outstretched hand, so she placed hers into his, allowing him to pull her up. At first she thought he had only three fingers but, when she did a double-take, saw that he had all four.

"I-I think so."

"I am officer Toffee," he said gently. "And you are? Hmm… not from around here, I see."

Star smoothed her dress with her hands and tried to straighten her abused hair. She still felt the pain of the pull throbbing against her scalp. She grabbed one of her sore elbows with a hand and embarrassingly looked down over her tousled clothes.

"I'm Star."

As she absently swept her long hair away from her neck, no longer having a headband to keep it held back in place, Toffee's eyebrows raised in surprise. The red heart gem of the collar reflected in his widening eyes like a mirror. He was momentarily held captive by it like so many before him. The finery that Star wore made him realize exactly where she had come from, and what she was.

"It is a pleasure to make your acquaintance, Star," he said pleasantly. "This is no place for a lady such as yourself. Please, let me take you back to the station so we can write up a report."

"I don't really want to cause any trouble. I can just… uhm, be on my way."

"Nonsense. No trouble at all for you, my lady. Those derelicts accosted you, and did they likewise steal your things?" His eyes had already taken her all in, and she caught them glancing down at her feet. "I presume you didn't walk all the way from home without shoes?"

"Well I… no."

He cocked an eyebrow, a smile disarmingly gracing his long face as he guided her towards his vehicle.

"Come. You will be safe at the station. At least we can tend to your injuries. I'll get you something warm to drink, something for your feet, and after we file the report you can be on your way, if that is your wish."

Star had become confused with knowing what exactly her wish was, not having planned very much past getting away from the manor and every aspect of the Mewni she knew. She wasn't used to making her own decisions. But, Toffee's suave demeanor and soft spoken words soothed her like a warm blanket, easily sliding her worries away and leaving her feeling comfortably sheltered. His uniform was well tailored, and his badge glistened with authority.

She was still in shock from the mugging, not thinking her clearest, or even caring, past the desire to get safe. She found herself allowing the Officer to lead her into his car.

He opened the door for her and held her hand to assist her in, giving a gracious bow like a valet.

"My lady."

Star had to almost climb into the vehicle, so lifted off the ground it was by the treaded wheels of the rear. She sat in the passenger seat besides Toffee as if she were his partner, the back part of the squad separated by thick plexiglass and iron-barred windows. She noted there was room enough in the back to seat up to four people sitting across from each other. Shackle-like devices hung from the sidewalls at the ready, attached to the interior frame.

"Those are called handcuffs. I know you've probably never seen them where you're from, although they have something similar… stronger of course. Don't worry, you're up here with me, not back there with them."

She gave a small chuckle.

The corners of Toffee's lips turned upwards into a smile, murmuring a small laugh. His eyelids just partially lowered over his eyes, giving him a charming countenance.

He slid into the driver seat and closed the door, immediately pulling two of the many levers inside with his hands. The long metal bars went down into the floor and connected with the frame and engine out of sight. The vehicle spun as if in place, making a zero-turn in the street.

Star watched out her window as the one building she had been heading towards was quickly fading into the distant night and getting lost among all of the other ones crowding in around it.

For a while, the pair was quiet. Star began to feel her bruises pulse as she sat back against the seat. A light fog of steam from a pipe exiting the vehicle's hood started to puff against her windowpane, the droplets picking up the outer coating of grunge along the car's surface and running down like grey rivers against the glass. Star's mind drifted as she watched the beads.

When she looked over at Toffee she saw in him, and in his impeccably-kept outfit, someone she felt she knew.

"You have been to, uhm, where I'm from?" she asked, as shyly as a child asking a question she feared might cause unease.

Without turning his head, Toffee's eyes drifted to Star then back on the road.

"Yes, I used to serve as a… factory worker."

"Oh," she whispered. She knew none of the working class personally, and there was no way she'd have ever been in contact with them.

Again Toffee took a quick glance at her. He thought to keep the questions one-sided.

"Yes, I left, same as you I presume? If that is what you intended to ask next."

"No-no-nooo, I just thought maybe you were someone I ran in to at some point. I don't mean to be nosey."

"Someone as ravishing as you, my dear Star, I would have certainly remembered, and I would have made sure you'd remember me."

A rosy color filled her cheeks. The air was subdued between them, but not awkwardly so. He went on speaking, his words becoming lighter, more reassuring.

"Star, may I ask why you decided to leave?"

"I just…" she trailed off, looking down and seeing that her fingers had gathered the folds of her dress in involuntary fists. She opened her hands quickly, letting go of the fabric. "I just didn't like…"

"It's all right. If it troubles you, you need not say."

The desire to speak her mind to someone rose like a small fire within herself.

"No, it's ok. I just thought I could be… meant for better things?"

"You feel like you didn't matter there. The people you lived with saw you as nothing more than property."

She found that when he'd given her space, she couldn't stem the surge of words that wanted to stream from her mouth, and wasn't entirely sure of everything that came out once it started. His question-like statements fed the growing fire of emotion within her like tinder, and once started, the blaze had to burn.

"They loved me. They said they loved me. But they acted the complete opposite. I had a good life and I loved them, like if they were my parents, I mean. But… they only saw what they wanted to see in me. I was their doll to dress up, and I allowed it. They did things to me I didn't want, and I allowed that too. They kept wanting more and more until I felt like nothing at all but a thing. Don't I have a say? Am I wrong to want my own say? Can't I say 'no' to being just… just a…"

"Slave?"

"A plaything."

Toffee raised an eyebrow on the side not facing Star, noting her side-step of his bold word, and how she downgraded it into something she could more easily swallow. He listened, fascinated with the strange woman seated next to him that gave him an awkward vibe. Her pitch became louder and broken with tiny sequels at the peaks.

"They only saw what's on the outside. That's all that mattered; not how I felt inside, only what I offered and what I could give, or they could take! I ran away and don't even know if I did the right thing. I left everything I knew behind… my only family and my friends. I don't know where to go. I don't know what I even want because I've only ever given others what THEY wanted. I don't even know myself."

Her chin dropped as she turned back towards the window, shielding her face from his by the barrier of her golden hair, preventing him from seeing the tiny tear that escaped down her face.

"What if I was wrong?" she sniffed quietly, watching the steam drops dance against the window.

Toffee could sense the mild sobbing and sought to rebuild her prior confidence.

"I have only known you a few minutes and already can tell that you're remarkable. Your leaving was no mistake at all. They didn't appreciate you, Star, and that was their mistake." He handed her a handkerchief from one of his many vest pockets. It was embroidered with a lower Mewman symbol for the letter 'T'. He held it out for her and waited until she took it, to dab at her eyes before continuing.

"You know, it takes bravery to break away from everything and take control of your own life. So few have the strength to be anything but a follower. Oh they all say they want to be individuals and stand up for themselves, but in the end most of them just cower like sheep. You're not alone in wanting to find your own way outside the flock."

"There are others like me?"

He spoke more slowly, carefully choosing his words.

"Well, not quite of the same class as you, but a few, yes, that have _escaped_ over the years and come to this place to start over in obscurity. Look at me. I am an officer now, not some worker in an aether-tech factory known only by a number, building the toys that only the wealthy can enjoy. I think you'll find this part of Mewni to be a good place to disappear."

"And remake myself, you're right! Like, a caterpillar transforming into a butterfly!"

"Yes well, one step at a time, Star."

The officer gave her a light smile and returned his focus to the road. Star was uplifted by the support of his words, and even though it was dark and bleak outside, the lights of the vehicle skimming over lower Mewni and making random alley rats scatter, she had a more positive feeling than before.

Star was staring out the window. While her eyes had been seeing the word going by, she only briefly took it in, her eyes staring blankly as the world went by. She allowed her thoughts to take precedence over her vision, wondering what the next day would bring and how she'd get started in this underworld of new experiences. Then, Officer Toffee shook her back into the moment.

"Would you care for a snack or drink?"

"Uhm… sure," she said.

He reached over to her side of the car and tapped the dash. He did it twice, as the dash didn't immediately respond, unlike the luxury vehicles with their holographic screens and buttons you'd tap in the air. He simply tapped the dash itself. With a slight grunt of annoyance, he nudged the part of the dash that opened but not all the way.

There was a compartment within the dash that held a few odds and ends of police business paperwork and set over them was some kind of wrapped candy bar and a very small bottle of water. It did not have an ice orb in it and didn't particularly look appetizing, and she wasn't really peckish, but she didn't want to seem ungrateful. She thanked the officer and took the candy, slowly unwrapping the shiny paper from the chocolaty insides.

"Mmm, thank you," she said while swallowing. "What is this?"

"That? That is a Snookers bar. It's the great equalizer… sold to all classes in Mewni."

"It's pretty good."

As she took small nibbles of the candy she realized how thirsty it was making her, and decided to go ahead and take the offered water as well. Officer Toffee nodded his approval while his hands turned the levers. Outside the window the world all looked the same despite being new to Star. It almost seemed as if they were driving in circles.

She had become dizzy. And tired. Her arms felt difficult to raise. She was having trouble keeping her eyes open. It had come upon her so quickly it brought along with it a sense of dread. Something was wrong.

She looked over at Officer Toffee, who had a tiny smirk playing in the corners of his lips, looking at her from the sideways glance of his eyes. She thought she heard him chuckle, but maybe she imagined it, or saw something not there. Her eyes were blinking more than usual, her head lolling slightly when she turned away.

Her head and eyelids became heavy like her arms. The anxious fear that had taken hold was like a dull background pulse that wasn't fully connected to her body. It was there, crying out to her every sinew to make her move, but she couldn't muster the energy. Sleep felt inevitable, the fight too great.

Finally her resistance drained. It was impossible not to shut the lids that wanted to seal her eyes and the world around her away.

When Star's eyes fluttered open, as the sleepy haze wore off, the strong scent of something itched inside her nostrils. It had tickled her out of the blackness of false slumber.

A heavy blanket had been draped around her shoulders. She had been nestled into it, and was no longer in a moving vehicle but a wooden chair. The fabric was almost comforting, were it not for the fact that she immediately found her arms and wrists held down by thick leather straps.

She awoke relatively quickly, the dulled fear she recalled having only minutes prior surging back into her veins like a spirit retaking its body.

"Ah, wonderful to see you awake."

It didn't take her semi-glazed eyes long to find Toffee. He stood before her, a pleased expression painting his maw. In one hand he had been holding some kind of small stick that was broken in half. She could smell the intense spice of it until he clasped his hands behind his back along with it.

"Before you decide to panic, let me make you aware of a couple points, shall I?" he asked, but continued on without waiting for her answer. "You're safely tucked away beneath the police station. No, you're not in the jail, nor are you under arrest, but you're in my… custody. As long as you cooperate, perhaps we can come to certain agreements."

"I-I thought you wanted to take a report," she muttered, trying to maintain her composure.

"You're right, Star."

Toffee spun on a heel and walked to the desk directly across from her. He sat briskly and immediately began to prick at a strange keypad device before him while looking at a glowing screen. His eyes skipped from the computer monitor to her, then back again, as his reptilian fingers danced across the Low Mewman letters. He seemed to delight in Star's amicable reaction to her capture.

Star didn't pay as much attention to his glances, unaware that his eyes often fixated on the collar about her throat. Her own eyes kept staring at the only thing in the room besides the table: the strange computer gadget lying on top, box-like and full of gears and small mechanical lights. On its front was a flat console screen, and in front of that was a touchable keyboard. There were computers where she was from but they looked so drastically different that Star almost felt like she had entered another time. Mewnian computers didn't require screens, displaying the images within the air from a console. One would touch the airborne symbols rather than physical keys on a board, like the difference between the fancy limousines and Toffee's dashboard.

Toffee was apparently recounting the evening while Star sat watching the interlocking gears turn, hearing the very faint murmur of a motor buried somewhere within that kept the computer alive. Within herself, her adrenaline was choking her throat, but she decided not to try her bonds or appear too stricken by her situation, trying to play along.

"So, you do this for all of your rescuees?"

"I beg your pardon?" he said, still distracted with the paperwork.

"You bring them here and make them comfortable, tying them to a chair?"

"No, it's not standard procedure, and a bit regrettable. I'm pleased to see you're taking it well."

She tilted her head to the side and gave a snarky attitude.

"I try to go with the flow."

"A wise decision."

There was the clacking of more typing as Star stared down Toffee. Without turning her eyes away she casually glanced about the room to get a look at the place. It wasn't filled with many objects besides cabinets and tables, mostly sterile, and not just in scant furnishings. The room was immaculately clean from floor to ceiling and painted white. It seemed medical in nature, and gave her an all new rush of fear when her eyes saw a metal tray with several needle-like apparatuses and tubes placed on it.

She broke the silence as much to keep herself calm as to find out more about Toffee.

"Why did you rescue me?"

"I am an officer. It's my job to stop the criminal element. I only allowed those two to run because taking care of you was my first priority. They are petty, short-sighted criminals and won't be on the loose for long when I get on their case."

"Uhm… that's not quite what I meant."

"You are asking why I rescued you and then brought you here, only to tie you up, I know."

The computer was making an annoying whirring noise, filling the stagnant air as his statement lingered within it, unnecessarily long.

In truth, he would have preferred not to have begun with her being restrained, but he'd sensed in her something different. Whatever it was gave him an uneasiness he wasn't accustomed to. He was not a man to let precautions slide.

He cleared his throat, looking up from his work.

"I also know you're used to a life of extravagance. It's a sheltered and entitled life. Your handlers kept you naïve to many things. But it's no wonder. Only the most prized concubines are dressed as you are and wear such a fine 'feature' about their necks. It's hard for you to understand how the real world works because you've never known otherwise."

Her blue eyes went wide with shock.

"Y-you knew all along?"

"I used to serve the wealthy elite, after all."

"As just a factory worker, you said."

"Yes, well," he brushed it quickly aside, "Regardless, I am well aware of those collars and the station one such as yours represents."

She pictured the magically sealed, smooth surface of the crimson heart that she often blindly toyed with. She'd made a motion as if you reach up and touch it, forgetting that she was prevented from so doing. It was so much a part of her that his continual staring at it made her feel exposed. She re-adjusted her legs as one of her bound hands fingered the blanket draping down off her shoulders.

"You said we all can make a new life for ourselves. I don't have to be what this collar says I am, and I don't plan on it."

"You were a slave before. Now, you're free."

She stretched her neck in an overstated manner to look at her still leather-strapped arms. "As free as free can be."

"And," he snorted a mild laugh as he smoothed back his hair, "if you'd like to remain that way, I can be of great service to you. Conversely, if you decide on the wrong choice…"

He stood and, rather casually, walked to the front of the table just inches away from her. He leaned against it, looking down into her eyes as she sat with bated breath. She had pulled her feet up off the floor and was sitting with them tucked up beside herself, wrapped in the blanket. Without shoes, her stockings did little against the cold of the concrete.

Toffee raised an eyebrow as he gradually maneuvered his tail. It slithered up underneath the blanket and against Star's legs. He could feel them shiver at his scaly touch.

Star felt the tail creep along, the tip of it tracing along the crease of her pressed legs like a finger trying to make its way northward. She remembered Aagil leisurely trying to train her, as if the pace at which the unwanted touch came had anything to do with her acceptance of it.

The flexible green limb didn't stop until it slithered its way over her arms, teased at her throat, and the end of it caressed at her cheek.

Her body stiffened, revolted, drawing away from Toffee while clutching the blanket. She averted her eyes sharply; that's when she caught from the corner of her eye something sparkle off Toffee's belt. He had several keys.

She yelled, trying not to look at the keys, as if Toffee would follow her gaze. "If you think I'm going to become YOUR concubine, you're making a big mistake!"

His calm demeanor belied his hidden desires, having fun with her fears. He didn't even bother to hide the smirk that crossed his lips. Swathed in the blanket Star appeared so frail, and yet was more beautiful than any female he had laid eyes on in quite a long while.

"I left because I didn't want the same path I had before! If I have to fight you like I had my caretakers, I will! I'm not about to let you-"

"Yes, you certainly will," interrupted Toffee, using his tail like an extra hand, tilting her head to both sides before pulling it back. "I can almost see the fire in you! Your bloodline hasn't completely lost it. Excellent."

She squinted slightly, confusion stopping her tongue from flying out further defensive statements. "What?"

"I am sure once we get better acquainted, you'll change your mind, in time, and see that my plans can mutually benefit us both."

"I don't plan to be here long enough to get better acquainted, so you better be the one to change your mind. Let me go, before I'm forced to hurt you too."

He chuckled as he cocked his head, reclining against his hands gripping the table's edge behind him. He continued with a tender, yet patronizing, tone.

"Forced to? Oooh my, you _are_ quite the catch. But, why don't we take a step back and have a realistic chat, hmm?"

"Maybe we could have… if you didn't drug me and tie me to a chair."

"Relax. You certainly are stunning, but If I'd wanted to have my way with you, I'd not have woken you up with the smelling salts."

He acted as if he hadn't heard her sarcasm, reaching over his desk and proceeding to hit a couple of keys on the keypad. Then, he turned the screen to face her. Over the flat surface she could see images of Aage and Aagil, information written in higher Mewman, and an image of herself, and the collar.

"They are offering an obscene reward for your return, Star. I don't need to tell you that the sum would be utterly life-changing for anyone this side of Mewni. But as an officer, I am even more so obligated to bring you in."

"But you won't… right?" She tried to appeal to his sense of camaraderie. "I mean, you and I share escaping lives we didn't want. We wanted the same thing."

Toffee took a very deep breath. "I was free to leave any time. I wasn't anyone's property. A worker goes missing, there are plenty more to fill the gap. You, however, can't just disappear. That collar can't be removed except by your keepers, and so you'll forever stand out down here. You need my level of protection. I brought you here to protect you."

Star hovered between fear and hope, her eyes quivering from not blinking as she watched Toffee's expressionless face, unable to read it.

"But… you won't take me back?"

"I could be persuaded to break the rules on your behalf…"

"…If?"

"You disappoint me," he grinned with a sardonic smile. "You should know I'm not exactly a fan of the upper crust, having left there myself. Of course I sympathize with your plight."

"Then, if you don't want a concubine, why are you keeping me here?"

"You are from the uppermost city. You're one of the few Mewmans that's permitted to see the sky."

The sound of Toffee's thinly disguised resentment began to soak through his words, feeling like an obvious warning to her ears.

"As such, that makes you of particular interest to me. You see, my dear, the most privileged Mewmans have a particular lineage. They have done their best to keep the classes apart for many reasons, not all of which is political. Those criminals that mugged you saw value in keeping you alive not out of kindness, but because a kidnapping meant the potential for more money. Others might have killed you on the spot and just stolen your things, or tried to sell you."

"And you're different because…?"

Toffee's voice was low, almost barely audible, his eyes squarely resting on Star. "We all have our hungers, but my eyes are not so short-sighted. You are more precious to me alive than dead."

Toffee pulled away from the desk, instantly making her flinch. But rather than putting his hands on her, he instead turned and went back behind the computer.

"You need me to survive down here, and I need you for some… tests."

Star looked at the metallic tray cradling the implements she assumed were for what Toffee was implying.

"No."

"Just a small request, really. I would like to take a sample of your blood. Let me run it through my computer. If my theories are correct, your higher Mewman blood will-"

"Why would I allow you to do that?"

"Simply put, because I am _asking_… not _ordering_. I could have already taken your blood, just as I could have taken you, remember? You're merely tied as a safety measure while we can sort out a deal."

"I don't want a deal. I want you to let me go!"

Toffee's lips shrank into a small slit, his eyelids half closing with irritation.

"Think this through. You're a smart girl. The only way I'd let you go is to send you home and gain that reward. And as I've said, that's a pittance compared to what we can gain together using science and a little bit of your DNA."

"No, I'm not going back home."

"Ah, I knew you'd see things my way and come arou-"

"No!" her voice rose, feet stamping to the floor for emphasis, though they only made mild slaps from her stocking feet. Her loudness echoed through the nearly empty space around them. It turned her bold once again, as she had been when facing Ginger. "I'm not becoming some kind of lab experiment for you! Not to you or anyone else!"

Toffee narrowed his eyes. "You sound like you've made your choice."

Her chin lifted defiantly. "I have."

"Well then…"

Toffee rose and clasped his hands behind his back. He strode around Star, saying nothing, until she diverted her eyes from his pacing lanky form for just a moment.

CLICK!

It was a pitiless sound that slapped the memory of receiving her collar back to the forefront of her mind. She felt hard metal against her arm and jumped, looking down to see the handcuff-like brace that Toffee had locked near to her elbow. It snapped onto the armrest of her chair.

She flashed her eyes upwards, directly meeting his just inches away.

"Why're you-"

"I'm too tired to argue. Now, I'm not asking."

There was no time for a whimper. He pinned her wrist firmly against the chair and grasped one of the needles from the tray. Even though she struggled, he seemed not to need to apply any kind of force to fight against her resistance.

Toffee merely waited while he held her down, allowing her to expend her efforts futilely. She thrashed and kicked around for a good minute, her blond hair whipping teasingly around his long, amused face. What kicks connected he simply took.

She arched her back to break free, and even tried to lean over and bite him, but it was useless. She was reduced to a breathless, drained mess, her muscles trembling with both fear and exertion.

The blanket had completely fallen to the floor. Her kicking and jerking at his body had left her limbs spent. She tried to catch her breath.

"Finished?" he asked, with an utterly sweet ring to his voice. "I commend you for trying. It was a valiant effort. I especially enjoyed it."

He seized his opportunity and plunged the needle into her arm before she could muster any rebound strength.

Star cringed back a painful gasp, gritting her teeth and squeezing her eyes to the point she could see sparks behind her eyelids. She felt the violent rush she had had with Aagil in the bedroom, sizzling her nerves, making her cheeks hot. She didn't want to break the needle in her arm. It was painfully tearing her skin with each fruitless attempt to pull away.

The tongue in Toffee's mouth slid over his teeth as his lips parted, allowing himself a heavier breath as he got a strong scent of her. His tail wrapped itself, snake-like, constricting around her legs to hold them back against the chair, like a free hand without fingers, enjoying his complete control.

"Nnurgh! Toffee stop!"

"Just relax, my gorgeous princess. I will be gentle." He was steadily drawing back on the plunger, pulling her blood along with it. He stopped once enough of the crimson fluid had reached one of the scratched markings along the side of the syringe body.

Again, the word '_princess'_ sounded so familiar, yet she hadn't a second to dwell on it. She yelped a groan as she felt him lean forward into her. There wasn't a moment where the tension on her wrists relaxed enough to let her slip free.

He removed the metallic clamp that clenched her arm, then withdrew back to the computer with the vial. The small hole he'd left in her flesh beaded with a growing red droplet.

"Now, for the real test," Toffee mumbled, inserting the end of the vial into a hub at the back of the computer's box-like body. A bulb of light flashed from orange to green, and even more, smaller gears within the contraption started to spin.

With all the eagerness of a child opening a surprise gift, Toffee scrambled into his chair, leaning forward to study the screen as rows and columns of symbols appeared, trailing down it like raining blue text. Star was used to seeing the reptile predominantly without much expression, but now his eyes widened, pupils shrinking. The light and letters of the monitor reflected off the wet surface of them; he gobbled them up as soon as they hit the screen, his snout beginning to bare a wicked smile of teeth.

"I knew I was right about your bloodline, Star," he said happily, but then his brows pinched together, his lips puckering as whatever was being revealed to him changed from something amazing to something perplexing. "Hmm, interesting… rather interesting."

"What is?" Star growled, wanting to know, but at the same time snapping vengefully as if she didn't care. "Something the matter with your little machine?!"

"That would not be the case. My machines are highly calibrated. I leave no margins for error. No, this is something… within you, my lady, that is completely different than anything I've come across before."

"Do you plan to fill me in or just keep going on with your delusional rantings?"

He quirked a smarmy brow her way, smoothing back his oiled hair.

"Hardly delusional, but I suppose since you'll be here a while it's worth having a companion to talk to, or argue with – as the case may be – whether you understand these things or not. They do somewhat concern you."

She gave an over the top, overly cynical smile as she tilted her head like a cherub.

"I need to perform a second test. Don't worry, I can see on your face already you're itching for another fight, but I can still use the same vial."

Mere moments later the light on the gearbox computer went back to orange, then to green, making a steady, tripping sound like a ticking clock. Toffee's attention was so enthralled in his work that Star was completely safe in her ambitions to map out the room, focusing on the only door. As she did so, she squirmed her left arm. A thin sheen of sweat was all that was needed to help her squeeze her hand out from under the leather bindings. Using the part of the blanket that remained closest, she hid what she had done and began to work on her other wrist.

Toffee narrowed his eyes as the screen blipped. The results had proven Star's blood to be pure, which was very rare and yet a result of which he guessed, but pure to the extent it was surprised him. Not only was it without non-Mewman contaminants generationally, but it had another material intertwined with the DNA. Not a contaminant, but an RNA trace element of radiation, to a small but potent degree.

He whispered beneath his breath, "Amazing…" He questioned if it could possibly be a magic residue, trying to contain his quickening pulse. Certainly, now he would need to keep the girl as his secret prisoner, for the untapped potential alone and not just her pure blood. Not even he could determine how much power could be eked out of her veins. If she had any magic at all, it was a find beyond his imagination.

"You see, Star," he managed to tear his eyes away from the screen and stand up once more, hands a bit jittery, behind his back to keep them stable.

Star quickly hid the fact that she was half-way through breaking loose of the second leather strap, seeing his belt keys on his hip as she tossed her hair, feigning disinterest.

"…nobody is happy here in Lower Mewni. Forced to never smell the clean air or have sunlight on your skin will do that to you over time. I decided to correct this, which is why I was planning to enlist your help."

"I already said I-"

Toffee's chin went to his chest, his hand stretching out and ordering her silence. "I will have your assistance, willing or not. Using the purest Mewman blood I can find – yours – I can synthesize a drug that will temporarily relieve them of their dour moods, of all of their unhappiness, and all at a reasonable enough price point. I've experimented with other synthesized compounds and the effects were not as addictive or dynamic as I'd like. But with yours, the purity on your blood will drive these poor Mewmans out of their minds. Something that will make them forget their own miseries entirely. It will be society-changing. Imagine! Every Mewman wanting, no – _needing_ – a taste!"

"So you're not just a kidnapper, but crooked officer dealing drugs as well?"

"I am no petty drug dealer, Star," he rumbled dangerously. "This would be well beyond the type of measly drugs on the market, in a class all its own. It's not so much a drug as a revolutionary medical treatment… a part of daily life like eating or drinking. The reason it's crafted from DNA is so that it bonds to the DNA of the users, at least in part. Once they use it once it will become a part of them, something they won't just crave, but need to survive off of, at the cellular level. It's genius!"

"I-it's mad!"

"Mad like the rulers in Mewni? Or Queen Omnia? The wealthy own the world, Star. You'd be wise to side with me. I may seek a little personal gain, but I'm a scientific philanthropist! Every Mewman will be happy again in this world, because of me. It will change all of Mewni, the poor and even the wealthy."

"You-you'd use fellow Mewmans like that? For your own sick profit? For power? By turning them all into genetically addicted slaves? That makes you no better than those who keep other Mewmans as concubines or erase the people down here from their sight! Maybe you shouldn't have left after all. You belong up there!"

The fire in her cheeks returned, becoming an even hotter sting as she tried to turn her head to break from his burning gaze. His sharp teeth threatened her as, instead of anger, he met her rage with a grin, taking a couple stalking paces forward.

"You have no idea how much I'd love to see their faces again when I rise back to the top! And all I need is you to elevate me there!"

At that moment a large sound erupted from an area above and the entire building shook. Dust and grains of cement crumbled down from the ceiling like powder. Toffee stopped, looking up at the grit which landed over them.

While Toffee's eyes were towards the ceiling, Star lunged, getting her second wrist free and reaching for the belt of keys.

She was hit by something hard; a slash of green whipped across her face. His tail sent her reeling as she slammed into the desk.

A fraction of a second after, another blast rocked the building, sending both Toffee and Star into different directions.

A sharp, high-pitched noise rang in Star's ears. She opened her eyes to find herself on the ground with a cloud of cement dust all around her. The desk had overturned and the computer, with all of its gears and lights, lay exposed and scattered in several parts about the floor. The vial was shattered. She had only blacked out for a moment, having mercifully landed on the blanket.

Slowly, the whine in her ears subsided and instead let in the muffled sounds of chaotic panic from dozens of shouting voices above.

"It's the resistance!"

"They broke through to the prison cells!"

"Are they in the basement?!"

"Get the steamhounds! Don't let them escape!"

Star coughed and looked around, seeing Toffee's body just a few feet away, sprawled next to the broken chair she had formerly been strapped to. A chunk of ceiling had come down over it leaving a gaping hole above, along with tearing down cabinets from off the walls. The tray and syringes were missing, replaced by plaster rock and broken glass.

Cautiously, she dragged away the chair as she reached Toffee's body. When she got closer she could see that he'd been badly injured. A large piece of wood had splintered off from the chairback and was sent deeply into his side. Ironically, he had probably protected her from it, having just bashed her aside when the explosion occurred. The wood was lodged just under his arm and through his ribs, blood pooling on the floor from the ugly wound.

Toffee appeared to be unconscious, but alive.

Star looked to the single door. The panel next to it was still intact.

Around Toffee's waist was her means of escape. Star grabbed for the keys, quickly figuring out how to undo the belt clasp. From there it was easy to pull them from the loose leather. She jumped to the door and got to work using the multiple smaller keys, trying to work them into the hole she figured was meant for one of them. Keys were more of an antique decoration she was used to seeing but not using, and her shaky hands hampered her efforts.

After what felt like minutes trying not to cough from her scratchy throat, and selecting key after key to pry into the slot, one of them made a satisfying _click_. A blue bulb illuminated through the dusty air over the panel. The door slid into itself, but when she stepped into the elevator, which was far more narrow than any she'd been in before, it didn't close behind her. It didn't move at all.

She looked for a listing of buttons or anything that would give it a command, but found none. Instead, against one wall was a large gear inset into the wall, with two thick ropes on either side.

"What the?"

She grabbed one of the ropes and pulled, the elevator slightly lifting. It was a dumb waiter style, requiring physical effort, the mechanics relying on a hidden system of pulleys within the wall. She learned fast. The elevator bucked into life with her ardent tugs.

She heaved until the box hit a stop. A black and blue bruise had started to throb on her forehead but the adrenaline prevented her from feeling it in full. The door creaked and slid once again into itself and opened to the turbulent ground floor of the police station.

A blackened fog billowed in over her along with the incoherent yells of people filling the air.

While stepping over and around chunks of wall debris, spilled office equipment and stacks of paper strewn all around, she dodged the other officers that were trying to get their bearings. They were tremendously focused on whatever rooms were nearby, so she kept afar back, hiding behind whatever she could find as she sidestepped around. She strove not to make a single sound of her own, even when her stocking feet stepped on hard concrete bits jetting into her soles.

Nobody so much as paid her attention, and she easily snuck out from the heavily damaged, smoke-filled building, camouflaged by the powder and soot covering her. When she was a good distance away she could see the extent of the damage. A large portion of the outside brick looked like it had been blasted away.

As she disappeared into the last remaining pieces of the night, Toffee was roused in the basement by a smaller officer shaking him.

"Toffee?! Toffee! You alright?" He called upwards into the air, "It's Toffee! I found him! He's down here!"

With a wince of pain, Toffee blinked and sat up. Noticing his wound, he tore the wood from the gash in his side, panting as it immediately began to enclose and heal. It left his uniform annoyingly torn, and worse - stained. He stood somewhat shakily and looked down at Laar.

"What happened, Toffee? What were you doing down here!? Toffee, the rebels - they were trying to break in, and you were in here doing… what!?"

Toffee growled as he buckled the leather, then brushed down his pants calmly, hiding any semblance of concern for being somewhat caught in his secret basement lab. There wasn't much anyone could make of it being such, however, a point he immediately noted with repressed ire.

"Go after her."

"What!? Who her? Toffee, didn't you hear what I just said!? The rebels-"

"I will handle the others. Go after the woman wearing the collar and blue dress that was just here."

"One of the rebels? You found one in the basement? In a dress?!"

"Do as I say and stop asking questions!"

"But Toffee!"

He shot the gnome-ishly short man a thunderous glare. "Need I remind you of rank?"

"N-no, but…"

"Then go! And do not disappoint me!"

The agitated and confused officer took off through the debris field.

It wasn't long until the new morning began, but the first beams of dawn that would've started to filter down over Mewni's wealthy metropolis did not so much as touch the dilapidated sector of Mewni. Star had been awake and on the move for longer than she'd known before, in a place that seemed forever too dark. So much of her was sore, tired, and completely spent from all she'd been through just fleeing from one bad situation to the next.

As the people began to wake up and go about their business, Star realized it must have turned morning. There was very little other way to tell that morning had indeed come, all of the lights being cheaply-made forgeries of those from Upper Mewni, and nowhere near enough to compensate for true daylight. Everything looked pretty much the same as it did during the nighttime hours. Lit only enough to dimly see by.

The streets were beginning to fill. She knew she needed a safe place to hide as far away from the police station as possible. She had to quickly duck around corners whenever she saw or heard a squad car motor past.

"At least they're all distracted," she muttered to herself. For the moment she was thankful that she looked as grubby and filthy as all the rest. Nobody turned their head to give her a second glance, keeping their own heads down as they went on with their own daily drudgeries.

She had wandered in many circles, easily getting lost multiple times. She felt trapped in a concrete maze. There were few, if any, street signs and the landmark buildings all looked as equally squalid as the next, without any truly distinguishing features. Finally though, she found the one building she sought. It was the same building she had laid eyes on when she had been mugged.

She headed for it as if it was an oasis in the center of a vast desert.

Star nervously approached the somewhat gaudy house. The stairs led up to a covered porch with small pillars on either side. It reminded her of a miniaturized but antique version of a mansion from her district of Mewni. At least it was somewhat familiar-feeling.

"I guess I have to at least try."

She reached forward, then tentatively knocked on the door.

The voice that answered from within belonged to a female, and it was deep and gravely, yet also sweet-sounding.

"We are closed until the evening hour, dear, but please come again later!"

"I'm not here for business, uhm, I'm," she wasn't sure what to say, because she didn't know exactly what kind of business the double-leveled house could have. She could only assume it was a hotel of some sort. "I-I'm just looking for a room. I'm sorry, I don't really have money to pay but I can trade, maybe?"

There was silence. Star struggled to find more to say.

"I'm so sorry. I'm very tired… and hungry. I wouldn't want to be any trouble and I wouldn't stay long. Please? I just need… some help."

Several locks were undone on the other side of the double doors. She could hear metal siding through latches, nothing at all electronic or magical sealing the door shut. And when the last bolt was slid one of the heavy mahogany doors creaked open. An older woman stood on the inside, her hair done up in a bun beneath a short-brimmed, feathered hat. She wore a deeply red, floor-length gown that was rather form-fitting, and looked to be around fifty years old.

"I am Madam Lovelace. Come in out of the streets, child."

She took Star's hands and pulled her in.

The place had a large living room lounge with couches and gaudy lamps all about, and a bar full of bottles of various liquors. She was welcomed by the warmth of it, and the perfumed scent that found her nostrils was so inviting compared to the outside that smelled of steam and wet aged grime. It was like lilacs in the summer. All of the windows were draped in red silky fabrics trimmed in black fringe. A staircase spiraled up on the left-hand side, leading to an upstairs portion with multiple hallways and rooms.

"Is this a hotel?" Star inquired.

The older woman beamed, perhaps finding her innocence amusing.

"Oh child, this is a place of temporary stays, yes, but not quite of the hotel sort."

She didn't know exactly what that meant, but just dropped her shoulders and gave up. "I just need a place to sleep a few hours. But I can only really offer you this dress as payment."

The Madam eyeballed her from head to toe, even walking all around her.

"Well, the dress seems mostly intact and not worse for wear, other than needing a cleaning. Can probably fix a few of those cuts, though those stockings have certainly exceeded their lifespan. And where are your shoes, child?"

When the woman spoke to her it wasn't at all in a demeaning way. It made her feel relaxed, even safe somehow. Maybe she was simply too exhausted to make up a story but she felt the last ounces of her guard slip away, and decided just to be straightforward.

"They got stolen."

"I see. That would happen when you wear such fine things out here." Her eyes seemed to linger on the collar. "You're not from this part of Mewni, are you?"

"No, ma'am."

"I know quality craftsmanship when I see it, despite it being covered in soot. You're a runaway concubine from one of the higher levels?"

Star looked up in surprise, then nodded sadly, grabbing an elbow with one hand and looking away again, ashamedly. "…Yes. Please don't try to take me back. I'm not going back."

The woman smiled in a genuinely heartfelt way as she took Star's hands into her own lacey, red-gloved ones. She led her to one of the couches.

"I wouldn't dream of it. I believe in doing what you can to survive, but that also means finding your own happiness."

She sat Star down and rang a small bell that sat atop a table next to a statue of a naked woman riding astride an overly-muscled warnicorn. A woman with wildly purple hair came down from the upper floor in response.

"Yes, Madam?"

"Beatrix, might you be able to scrounge up some of the dinner leftovers from last night?"

"Of course, mum, right away."

The woman was about the same age as Willow, Star thought, but more thin. She wore what might be considered an elegant styled dress for Lower Mewni, but it was very revealing of her figure, especially around her breasts, the dress sitting off the shoulders. The woman also had a very simple black lace collar with a large silver ring on it around her neck.

Star's face fell immediately into a pout. It hadn't gone unnoticed.

"Don't worry, child." The Madam gracefully set the small bell back down on the end table, facing Star. "I will not pretend anything with you. You'll find I am very direct. This is a pleasure house, much like the palaces they have in Upper Mewni. But all of my girls are not my slaves. They work for me, at their own will, and they get paid for their work. They can spend it however they wish and can leave whenever they want. Their collars are mere costume-ware to make the patrons feel a bit more… empowered compared to their lot in life. They remove them at the end of their shift."

"Really?" Star was confused. She couldn't immediately believe that anyone would choose to work in such a way when they were free to go, and to do anything else they wanted, not having masters that bought and paid for them.

"Yes, of course. All of my girls get room and board as well as a wage. I treat them fair, and you are welcome to speak with any of them. I could even take you on as a hire. That is, if you should change your mind."

Star's eyes widened with a note of apprehension.

"In time, I mean, child. You are quite young and beautiful, and would do well for yourself with me. It looks like you've been treated a bit roughly so far, judging by that bruise on your head and those knees. But know there is no pressure here. You are free to choose."

The older woman stood and went to the bar to jot some notes into a log book by hand. She used a feathered black quill, and Star's eyes were hypnotized by it as she saw it flutter over the page. She was dizzy, famished, and sleep was starting to make her limbs heavy.

"In the meantime," continued Madam Lovelace, "I shall have Beatrix prepare a room for you. I accept your trade offer and will take your gown as payment for say, two week's stay with full kitchen privileges. You can eat and drink however much you want, come and go as you like, have access to the bathing rooms, and have clean linens daily. I am sorry I cannot possibly offer you a truly fair trade for the dress. Even with those minor tears it's above my paygrade. This is the best I can offer you."

"Thank you. It means a lot to me."

"And who is '_me'_ child?" she smiled, stopping the feathered pen from its writing.

"Sorry, I didn't say earlier. My name's Star."

"Star, how lovely. Well Star, I am happy to have you with us for however long you wish to stay. And, if you decide to continue on here, we can come to another arrangement of course. Ah, Bee-Bee, please show Star to our dining room."

Beatrix had appeared from a side room carrying a plate of food, something looking like mashed potatoes with maybe a couple strips of meat laid over them, smothered in gravy. The scent of it immediately made Star's stomach grumble, waking her up just enough to stand and follow.

After she had scarfed the meal down, hardly allowing the food enough time to settle on her tongue for taste, Beatrix showed her to a room. It was a quarter of the size of her former bedroom at the manor, with a smaller wardrobe, smaller dresser for clothes, and a bed only large enough for one comfortably. The curtains had already been drawn for the night but it was already a darkened room. Nothing at all was white and bright like within the manor; the walls and flooring were composed of dark woods, covered with red and black matching rugs, wall-hangings, and bed furnishings, making it so much darker inside. There was one light with a lantern-like glass shade over it, its small flickering flame dancing from the tip of a fabric wick within. Due to the number of mirrors placed all around the room, the single light was surprisingly effective at keeping the interior aglow with a warm, cozy feeling.

"Beatrix?" Star looked to the girl that had shown her the room, and who was quickly making an exit.

She stopped in the doorway. "Yes? Anything else I can do for you?"

Star had questions in her head, and her tongue so wanted to ask them, but seeing Beatrix's soft green eyes, her mouth seemingly unable to frown, her attitude so upbeat, she decided to hold back. Rather than the heavier things she'd intended to ask, instead trickled out idle pleasantry.

"Thanks for showing me this great room."

"Ah, no bother! Mum decorates all the rooms but if you decide to stay you can change it however you like."

"You call her mum, is she… your mother?"

Beatrix chuckled a little. "No, no, that's just what all us girls call her. Most of us are from orphanages. Mum finds us in all places and offered us a chance at a new life. We all look up to her as a mother… of sorts."

Star held her tongue again, choosing not to inquire about the concubindome of Lower Mewni. Her body ached for sleep. The bed looked lumpy and misshapen, yet totally inviting.

"I'll bring up your clothing. When you're ready, just leave your dress and things beside the door and I'll fetch them later. You look pretty beat, best you get some sleep before tonight."

"W-why? What happens tonight?"

"Ahh, you know… the gentleman callers. It can get loud sometimes and lot of people coming and going."

"...Oh."

"Ahh," Beatrix shrugged and snickered again, "It's not as bad as it sounds! Don't worry. Most of us sleep during the day anyway."

Star crawled atop the bed. It sank in under her weight, a bit too much so, causing her to literally fall into it.

"You get some sleep, ok?" Beatrix smiled. "You can leave your dress near the door and I will fetch it later, and will leave you the new dress mum is going to get for you."

Star awkwardly rose back up from the bed which almost devoured her whole, breaking into a giggle herself. She was too used to her former bed, which was rigid and hard by comparison.

"Thanks again," she said. And when Beatrix closed the door she slid in under the sheets. The long broken-in bed springs hardly bothered to support her weight. She removed her dress and stockings, tossing them flippantly to the floor, and accepted the bed that acted more like a pillow. It was admittedly the most comfortable bed she'd slept in.

Later that afternoon Beatrix burst into her room. Star was still fast asleep, oblivious to the commotion as Beatrix snatched her dress and stockings, until the girl jumped into the bed with her, stuffing the dress down at their feet beneath the blankets.

"What's going-!?"

"Shhhhh! Police! Just play along!"

Her eyes went wide, her adrenaline instantly prompting her heart to beat into her throat. The sudden invasive awakening kicked Star's adrenaline into overdrive. Beatrix was on top of her underneath the covers, and embracing her tightly.

Star opened her mouth to speak again but the bedroom door flung open with a rough bang, and Beatrix planted her mouth onto hers, stifling her to muffled noise while adding in her own. The sound of crunching mechanical parts like footsteps, and sniffing hisses like steam vents, came into the room, as well as two other voices.

"Police! Just running a missing persons search, people, you can… ugh, continue," Laar grunted, seeing the struggling forms beneath the bed blankets and snorting, quickly averting his eyes with disgust. "Why can't Toffee do his own dirty work… he's the one that enjoys places like this."

Star was paralyzed in fear. Whatever was sniffing was taking long echoey breaths, edging closer.

"I thought Lovelace's didn't open until six of the clock?" the other officer grumbled, stepping ignorantly past Laar with a push into the room.

The sounds of the ratcheting metal was directly next to the bed, seeming to tower over it.

Star couldn't see through Beatrix's lavender locks draping over her entire head. It seemed that the concubine did so on purpose. When the officer spoke, Beatrix simply grunted harder, almost angrily. Star didn't so much play along as she remained stunned to the bed, wearing nothing but a bra and panties with the other woman groping her hands all around her in no particular fashion, being loud and obnoxious with her lips pressed against her.

The metal clanked like steel against steel, like teeth sharpening themselves. Star's body flooded with a rush of unknown heat, beginning at her cheeks.

The officer barked again, "I said, Lovelace's doesn't open until-"

"Until six, you're right, officer."

The voice came from the Madam herself. It was deep and without a hint of worry.

"Please, if you don't mind," she directed Laar and his partner away from the doorway, "I do allow for VIP clients to arrive two hours beforehand for special attention." She called out to Beatrix and Star, "My apologies for the intrusion, please feel free to help yourself to a sauna later, courtesy of the house."

Laar narrowed his eyes and took one last glance over at the bed, then sharply whistled. Whatever had made the mechanical noises bounded away, moving on multiple legs. The Madam closed the door and Star could hear the voices of the trio as they walked down the hall, followed more slowly by the grinding of gears.

"You certainly can check all of our rooms here but I assure you, no new girl has shown up in recent days, as a new hire or a client."

Laar persisted. "We just need to conduct the search room by room, regardless of what you say."

"I understand, but do so without barging into the rooms and questioning my clients. Do not disrupt my business whilst you conduct yours."

The voices faded away as they entered other rooms down the hall.

Beatrix finally unlocked her mouth from Star, sweeping her long hair away and leaning back, still straddling her.

"Whew, close one."

Star's eyes darted around Beatrix. "Whaaaaat just happened?" She wasn't yet ready to allow her muscles to relax. She stayed pinned beneath her, questioning what was about to happen next.

"That was the police looking for you. They asked about a girl wearing a beautiful gown and an irresistible heart collar, with long, flowing, amazing looking blond hair. Ring any bells?" she laughed lightly, a rosey blush flooding her cheeks hard.

"Did… did they use those exact words?" Star stammered, trying to break the tension with a sarcastic, yet nervous smile.

Beatrix could only laugh.

Awkwardly, Star looked up at Beatrix while she looked down at her. The moment seemed to last far longer than natural.

"Are you going to let me get up?" Star asked slowly.

"Oh! Ahh yes, sorry!" Beatrix hopped off of Star. "Stay here until they leave, all right? They still have the steamhound."

"Steamhound?"

"Yeah. That's why I couldn't hide you. I had to… ahh, improvise." Her cheeks flushed red as ever. "If I hid you anywhere else in here it would have seen you. Easier to turn you into a client since they'd expect two people in a bed, heh. It can see in the dark and where people are hiding. And when it finds what it's looking for it snaps its jaws down and you can't break that clamp. You'd never get away."

"Oh!"

"That's right, you're from Upper Mewni. Don't need no steamhounds there. Well, they're like a walking computer that looks like a huge dog, sort of. They're brutal machines. Fast, and unstoppable. You must be very important to someone because they don't send the dogs out except for like, the resistance members."

"Resistance members?" Star swung her legs over the side of the bed, covering herself with the blanket.

The motion of Star shielding herself made Beatrix suddenly realize Star's modesty. "By the way, I have the dress mum wanted to give you."

Beatrix walked over to the small dresser and pulled out what might have been considered a very nice dress for Low Mewni standards, but it wasn't quite what Star was used to. It was short, to the knees at most, and only had two spaghetti straps to hold it up once on the shoulders. There weren't any ruffles or lace except for the lacework along the spine, to keep the bodice attached. But, it was blue, a pleasant fading shade of dark indigo, and came with clean white stockings.

"It's lovely, thank you," Star grinned. She was sad to see the beauty and elegance of her old dress go, but happy she would be able to fit in.

"Mum figured you'd enjoy the blue, your other dress being blue and all."

"She's very thoughtful."

"Yes, you will love her, you'll see. You won't wanna leave."

"Uhm… well, I-"

Before Star could complete her sentence, they heard footsteps coming towards them in the hall. Beatrix immediately sprang to cover Star.

The door of the bedroom opened. It was Madam Lovelace, alone.

"It's all right girls, it's just me."

"Oh madam, so glad it's you!" Beatrix removed herself from her hug of Star and set the clothing on her lap for her to get dressed.

Star was left wondering just a little bit more about Beatrix, but she shook her head to clear the thought from her mind, beginning to slip on the dress so that she could express her thanks once again to Madam Lovelace directly, while being clothed. The fabric felt a little more course than silky but she was impressed how well it did fit her slender curves. Beatrix quickly moved to lace up the corset in the back without her needing to ask, while the older women walked up to them both.

"I keep having to thank you, madam." Star said with a slight bow. "The dress fits me perfect and it's so colorful."

The madam smiled gently. "Star, we both know it doesn't compare to what you had before, but I thank you for your desire to thank me just the same. Just don't pander to me, child, I can only tolerate so much flattery."

Were anyone else to speak such things, Star might find them to be too boldly assuming, but the way the older woman sweetly confided, with so soft yet authoritative of inflection, made her feel more like a sympathetic equal.

As Star grinned sheepishly, she continued. "It appears that you had a run in with the police."

"Yeeeeah, about that…"

"You needn't explain, child. You're a runaway from Upper Mewni. No doubt your former owners are seeking to get you back."

"Er, yeah, something like that. Listen, I gotta thank you for standing up for me, and… and not giving me away. You didn't have to do that and it means a lot-"

"Stop thanking me already, Star. Treat my place as your refuge. We all have to stick together sometimes against such… oppressions."

"Than-I mean, uhm, I will."

"Good girl," she said, seeing Star's quick compliance and brushing the back of he gloved hand along her cheek. "You're stronger than you know, Star."

She was unsure why the madam has said that. "What?"

"I thought I saw something on your cheek there."

"Yeah, me too, under the blankets," Beatrix admitted. "Thought I saw something."

"Wha-huh, what something?" She rose a hand to her cheek but didn't feel anything but a slight tingle.

Madam Lovelace took her hand away and stopped examining her skin. "Nothing, child, I don't see anything there but a pretty young face. Must have been just my eyes as I'm getting older. The light hits your skin and really brings out your glow."

"Yeah," Beatrix breathily sighed.

"Bee-Bee?"

"Yes, mum?"

"Go help the others prepare for tonight."

The girl gave a mock pout and rolled her eyes. "Yeeees, madam."

"And Star? We all like to have a large meal right before we open, so you may join us in the dining hall. I can introduce you to the other girls."

* * *

Almost the full two weeks had gone by, feeling like a fast-forwarding through time for Star. She came to know all of the working girls in the brothel, even helping out Madam Lovelace around the house as a courtesy. If any of the girls needed new linens she would quickly be there to get them washed, and even washed dishes after meals. She kept the place as tidy as she had for Aage and Aagil's manor. It was what she knew, and she felt good being able to fall back into a role she was used to and assist those that had helped to keep her safe and hidden.

Although it initially went against her better judgment, pricking her own sense of moral right to help out a place that she basically had just run away from, in speaking to the women she found none of them to be at all unhappy with their positions. On the contrary, they usually did far better in making a living for themselves than others in Lower Mewni, though Star didn't particularly think that was a good or noble thing. She thought that the amount of money somehow made it right in all of their minds - the self-employment, and the empowerment that came with it - but she figured it wasn't her place to complain when they were happy and clearly not slaves.

She had made good friends with Beatrix, though at times she felt that the concubine wanted to get closer than just friends. Beatrix was definitely more free in her sexuality, as many of the other women were, but Star found herself awkward in such situations. Her reservations against exploring some of the things Beatrix seemed to want to with her presented a challenge that only made Beatrix want to pressure her slightly more into what she termed as 'self-discovery.'

Nevertheless, they were close, as close or perhaps closer than she had been with Willow. She was starting to feel like she had found a new home, and was debating requesting a maidservant position with Madam Lovelace to work for her keep.

But as her two weeks were coming to a close, trouble was not too far behind chasing at her ankles, stomping her back under the bootheel of reality.

Lovelace's place served a great many customers from all corners of the bedraggled belly of Mewni. Some had positions of relative power like police or politicians, while others were their polar opposite: the seedy folk the police were tasked to chase down, or the well organized criminals. One of Madam Lovelace's more prominent attendees was a known mob boss, whose influence often swayed judges to rule in his favor, or simply paid off the police. Many were in his pocket. It was unwise not to give him his way.

He was the largest man Star had seen in Lower Mewni, where most of the citizens were getting by on scraps. Most ate too little to gain any fat, so his size was a definite mark of his status below. She'd seen far larger though, in Upper Mewni, even Mewmans that couldn't walk under their own power anymore due to their scale. They got around instead on wide hoverchairs.

She was busy tidying up the lobby before the evening began in earnest, when he walked in without so much as a knock. Two bodyguard-like henchman came along with him at either side, and his arm was wrapped around the shoulder of a red-haired teenage boy Star's own age.

Lovelace was always the portrait of calm even under pressure, and the rude entry did little to change it. She simply directed herself towards the pudgy-faced man with her usual flourish and good-natured hospitality, ignoring the ignorant intrusion.

"My, it's been a time since I've seen you and your boys. All work and no play, so they say," she smiled, "will get you into too much mischief!"

The boss was a great smile from ear to ear, the flab of his cheeks rippling to the sides. He wobbled a bit on his feet, with words somewhat slurred.

"We're here to create some mischief, not take a break from it!"

He was dressed as if he was about to fine dine, with a very clean-cut black suit. His thick hands were adorned with equally large rings that looked impossible to remove, like sausages overly wrapped too tight. His shoes weren't polished like Toffee's had been. They were scuffed and scrapped. A hefty gold chain was draped around his neck that ended in a small glowing white stone shaped like a demon horn. It could only have come from Upper Mewni. Such a thing reeked of expense.

"Lets not break any of the lamps or beds this time, alright?"

Madam Lovelace could get away with painting a criticism in with a compliment. Star enjoyed hearing her as she managed her affairs with total confidence.

"Do take into consideration you don't need to hustle my girls the same as you do your clientele. They will readily give you whatever your desires. So, how may we serve you this evening? The usual?"

The boss shook his head, then looked at the youth he was holding tightly against his side, shaking him a little until he likewise smiled, albeit sheepishly.

"This is my son, Maximus. It's his birthday today. The big eighteen."

"Ahh, well congratulations, Maximus. Finally come of age to enjoy all of the sundry adult entertainments."

His father spoke on his behalf. "Yes! Got him a bit loosened up and ready to go for ya girls."

The boy gave a gentle laugh, and when Star briefly met his eyes she saw his locked onto her. She didn't know how long he'd been watching her, but the sensation of his eyes immediately pricked her nerves. She decided to clean elsewhere, heading upstairs.

The boy's eyes followed her every step of the way.

The Madam rang the bell from the end table a certain way and called up to the working girls. Those that were not already with clients quickly came bouncing down the stairs and lined up beside her, holding their skirts with coy little smiles and winks at the men in the main lobby. They had done this lineup routine before.

Beatrix and the others bowed and did some twirls while the mob boss pointed and elbowed his son, distracting his eyes away from where Star had gone off to. His father made him look at the bawdy delights set before him.

"Now, which one do ya like best? Personally, I like this one here with the purple hair… she knows some special tricks with her tongue!" he laughed. "Oh but this one is also amazing! How she bends her body in all the right ways! If ya want more than one, that's OK too, but not too many. Ya'll get too worn out and we have more bars to hit up tonight after ya become a real man!"

Maximus observed the girls with a half-hearted air. He touched the hair of Beatrix between his fingers, then moved on to another, feeling along her breast, finally spanking a third just to hear her squeak.

"They aren't like limos, boy. Ya can test drive as many as ya want and not have to keep them, or make payments!"

The Madam's lips pursed into a purposefully drawn smile, her eyes twinkling, but hiding disdain.

"Take your time choosing. They are all highly gifted and each have their own flavor, but are all here for your tasting."

The birthday boy analyzed each in turn, then spoke with a lofty, arrogant tone.

"What about the one with the heart collar? Why isn't she here?"

Lovelace was taken slightly aback, but she didn't miss a beat.

"That is the help staff. She is not one of my service providers."

"Well that's the one I want," he said matter-of-factly. "Bring her to me."

"I'm sorry, but she is not for hire. Please, choose any of the others."

The girls standing there continued to suggest themselves, batting eyes and touching their bodies as if allergic to their clothes, and they needed to soon come off. Beatrix in particular tried to put on a more fierce presentation, turning around and bending as she adjusting one of her long to-the-hip stockings.

"That's the one I want."

His father stepped in, at first taking Lovelace's side, only to falter mid-way through. "Max, ya want a trained girl that knows her way around charming ya snake. Ya sure that's the one?"

"I'm sure."

Madam Lovelace began to protest, but the boss interrupted.

"If she's the one he wants, then that's his choice. Can't talk no sense into young kids these days," he chuckled. "So go fetch her."

"She is not hired for that."

"She's got a collar and a gash between her legs. What more does she need? My son's no fool. He can figure it out."

"I must disagree. She's-"

The bodyguards took a few steps closer to the Madam at the flex of the boss's shoulders, his arm dropping off his son's back at long last. His face went from wrinkles of good humor to a scowl of intimidation.

"She's the one my son wants, and the one he'll have tonight."

The girls in the line became more jittery, having trouble sustaining their sexy poses. Their eyes frequently went to Lovelace's face to read her. She remained firm.

"Choose another, and I can make it complimentary for you and your men for the entire night, open bar and sauna."

The angry father predatorily approached Lovelace, continuing to draw closer and speak softer until he was right up in her face, their noses almost squarely touching. But she didn't even tilt her head an inch back.

"I believe my son made it clear, but I can make it more so. You wouldn't want me to break anything."

"If your son has a bad time with an inexperienced girl, you're liable to do that anyway."

"Why test me on that? I could have your building burned to the ground. Where would ya girls go then, hmm? Do ya have enough saved up to build another place? I think not, especially since the prices of permits will go up if I speak to the Building Rep."

"You have the power to buy the clout to do that, but you won't put me out of business, even if you did torch the place."

"I'd not like it if I had to do that, mess up this nice place… or ya girls. Black eyes and missing teeth don't make for pretty faces for the customers, now, do they?"

The older woman lowered her head for the first time, the threat of violence to her girls a step too far. She was silent for agonizingly long seconds while he breathed his boozed-up breath in her face, until she looked up once again.

"Come with me, Maximus. I can't promise you she'll be willing."

The son stuck out his chin and gave a sly grin. "Who's asking? I get what I want, just lock the door behind me."

Lovelace and Beatrix exchanged nervous glances as she led the teen past the other girls and headed for the upstairs bedrooms. She knew Star was likely in her own room.

The pair began to mount the stairs, each step a slog through shame. Lovelace looked over the railing, seeing the bodyguards start to unwind at the bar with the ladies distracting them. She shook her head when Beatrix attempted to follow her up, leading the boy towards Star's room.

Her eyes begged a 'don't do this' stare, but Madam Lovelace's were ashamedly settled on their course.

Star was inside, sitting on the bed and stitching together a couple pieces of fabric where a hole had torn in one of the girls' hand gloves. Lovelace stopped just before her door, turning away so as not to look at her as Maximus quickly went forward. He entered the room like his father had the brothel, as if it and everything within was his own.

Once he slammed the door, the Madam regretfully pulled out her master keys. Her eyes didn't want to see what her hands had to do. She felt the key snap the lock into place.

The walls were crafted of thick wood, but it didn't keep down much noise, and hearing the goings-on in the quarters was an unsettling yet altogether familiar experience for everyone inside; but this time the sounds were rougher that the usual; combative; not the typical outbursts of excitement. The teenager that barged into the room immediately demanded for its occupant to undress.

"Uh, maybe you have the wrong room?" Star questioned.

"I don't. I've chosen you as my girl tonight."

"I don't work here. I mean, uh, I do… but not like that. You've made a mistake."

"That's funny. I don't make mistakes," he said as he rushed over to her and forced his mouth against hers.

She fought to pull herself away while his hands groped around her, grabbing a hold of the fabric and trying to tear off whatever pieces he could. She could taste the alcoholic burn in his mouth and tried to smack him away.

Madam Lovelace could hear the situation quickly escalating. She couldn't bare a moment of it, heading back down the stairs at the same time Star had broken free, running to the door. It was locked. No amount of jiggling the handle wretched it open. Everyone could hear the resultant bangs as fists hit against the door.

"Hey! Let me out!"

Maximus wrapped his arms around her from behind, pulling her waist away. "Get back here!"

Star found her fists balling up. Her anxiety began as a cold shiver that turned into sweat. Her chest tightened and her face flushed.

Her voice screamed out. "Someone open the door!"

"Not until we're done!"

Star's hand had reached out, and without even feeling her knuckles make contact to his jaw, the man toppled slightly, colliding with a mirror and shattering it. She repeated herself more vehemently, with gravel in her slowly deepening voice, as if a darker force was speaking for her and she didn't want to stop it.

"Let… me… go."

"Bitch, stop fighting me!"

He slapped a hand across her face and she fell backwards into the bed. He removed his belt.

As her blood raced, Star could hear it thudding in her ears, along with the voice she had heard whispering once before. It was faint, calling to her like her heart's pulse, insistent and undaunted, stinging her cheeks.

After the telltale clank of the belt, she heard the frightful sound of a zipper.

The unexplained fire that she'd felt before seemed to burn hotter in her veins. Without knowing fully what had possessed her, she gripped the tie of the boy as he hunched over her and tried to hold her down, one hand holding her arm back and the other pressing down her collar.

He laughed when her hand pulled the tie, bringing him closer. His scrappy pants fell to his ankles. The sound of his belt clicking in her ears was like the last ticks of an explosive grenade.

"I like this foreplay!" he grunted animalistically as his shoulder muscles trembled to keep her pinned.

But when he finally fastened his eyes to hers, what he saw therein made the blood flee from his face, his anticipation turning to terror.

She blinked hard as the inferno deep inside intoxicated her. The sapphire pigment of her eyes shifted to pure luminous white, so bright not even the blackness of her pupils could be seen. They were so full of light that they brightened the space around them both, the tie scorching in her fist and strangling him with a noose of fire. As he gargled out a scream, his hand that was placed upon her neck likewise burned.

"I SAID-"

But the young man didn't get to hear her finish.

She felt the anger surge into her every sinew. From the tips of her fingers and toes to every place in-between, it scorched within like the blistering of lava pushing up inside a pressurized volcano, climbing higher and higher still, into her fiery cheeks. Heart-shaped marks appeared on her face, searing with white-hot light.

She could see the snarl over the bridge of the gentleman's nose twist and contort, his eyebrows turning from hard downward angles to upturned distraught arches of pain. He had moved both hands to grip her by the throat in a vain effort to make her stop; connected to the collar, he found that he couldn't remove them. The power from Star's own body had conducted into it and his hands were completing a circuit between them, bubbling his flesh from the scorching heat.

Grinning from euphoria, Star's energy erupted. The man began to spasm wildly like an electrocuted puppet, his voice becoming shrill and piercing. The collar was melting the flesh from his fingers, the gemstone heart a blazing crimson as the man's fingers became bone.

A small white slash fractured across the gemstone heart's surface like the reaching arms of a snowflake. In a moment fermented in the man's final screams, everything around her exploded with shining pure light. The man shredded apart as if ripped by a spiraling internal tornado; the collar severed free from her neck; the exterior walls of the room opened to the outside.

Star had levitated, then collapsed to the floor, the exertion having pulled almost every bit of strength from her body. How long she had been unconscious, she didn't know, but it couldn't have been long. Madam Lovelace was the first face she saw when she was lifted up by her hands.

She was greeted with multiple pairs of eyes that looked on her not as much with worry as that of dread. Even Star herself, recalling the memory of what had just happened, wasn't sure how she had done it, or why she'd allowed it. She had murdered the mob boss's son in a moment of vengeance, utterly reveling with the power.

The voices of the brothel women came in at all angles, jumbled up in her head like the incoherent voices of hysteric starlings fighting to be heard, one over the other as they filed into the room. Then men's shouting, brutish and large, yelled over them somewhere behind.

They were charging up the stairs.

"Bee?" Star asked as she came out of her stupor, looking for her purple hair. "W-what happened?"

"I'm right here," a small voice said. Beatrix was not one of the women who had helped her to sit up, instead choosing to hang back behind the others, only darting glances towards her. She continually averted her eyes, looking from the broken wall, to Star, then at the burn marks all over the floor.

All at once the mob boss barged in, then halted, his inhaled breath hanging in his throat. His eyes searched the room, seeing the women piled together on the floor, the burn marks on the carpet, the drapes. The mirrors were shattered, and it was hard to miss the exploded out wall. But his son he didn't see.

His bodyguards burst in and were likewise aghast, looking to their stupefied boss for direction.

Star whimpered, the spent energy leaving her emotionally compromised. Seeing Beatrix, of all the brothel girls, afraid to touch her or even to go near her, was more than she was ready to handle.

"What happened Star?!" one of the other girls asked in a flurry. "How did your cheeks… glow?"

"Where is his son? He isn't here?" asked another.

"There was light, and an explosion. What did you do?"

One of the goons stomped forward. "The little tart killed him!" He pulled something that looked like a polished wooden stick wrapped in coiled wire from his belt holster. The second followed suit. They both pointed the weapons towards the women and they all squeaked with fear.

The boss began to heave his breaths, growling as his fists balled at his sides. Sweat on his brow ran down the sagging fat of his face.

"One of ya had to have seen something. Tell me! Now!"

Madam Lovelace protectively wrapped her arm around Star. "He must have ran. You saw as much as we did, and he's not here."

The father was on the verge of monstrous rage. The willpower it took to restrain himself left him visibly shaking. The veins of his neck raised out, skin thinning around tightening knuckles.

"If none of ya tells me what happened here, I'll make sure to find out, one finger at a time, one wrist at a time, one eye at a time!"

He grabbed Beatrix, who was the farthest from the pack, yanking her back by the hair and forcing her down at his knees. The guards stood by, ready in case she tried to resist.

"So help me, I will snap her neck right now!"

"Beatrix!" Star shouted. "Stop! Let her go!"

But it was Beatrix that spoke, in a coughed, tearful whisper.

"The man melted. I saw it. I saw it all myself. He's dead."

Star's head throbbed and her heart went through a myriad of emotions. The conflicted feelings besieged her while she looked down at her shivering hands, staring at them like illegal, deadly weapons that might activate and kill them all, being unable to stop it, or even worse - to enjoy it.

She saw the glint of the collar lying between her knees on the floor. She slowly touched the heart lock of it, which was cracked and broken, split down the middle; then, she pulled back her hand to feel at the skin left bare on her neck. She barely noticed the Madam's hands wiping the tears off her face with a handkerchief.

The words faltered from her mouth, but her body stood up on shaking though adamant legs.

"I didn't mean, I mean… it was an accident."

"Accident!?" the boss roared, several of the girls jumping back from the outburst. "Ya killed my boy! My boy!"

Anguished, Star could only repeat herself as she bent to pick up the collar. The brothel girls stood quickly, instinctively backing against the side wall away from the men and her. No one tried to reach out and grab back Star's arm, like she almost hoped they would. Not even Beatrix.

"I didn't mean to kill him."

The mob boss watched her with eyes glazed over, nearing the point of frenzy, ears no longer hearing any of her sniveled-out words. Then he gave the order.

"Tie them all up!"

The women began to scatter around the ruptured room screaming as the two henchman corraled them with their weapons. Only Madam Lovelace refused to resist. The boss himself grabbed her harshly by the elbow elbow and pulled a lose cord from a back pocket, lashing her wrists behind her back.

"I'll start with you."

"As well you should." She was proud even though defeat was closing in.

Star was frozen in what felt to her like a time bubble. The women were shrieking around her, being beaten and tied up by the men. Their motions swam around her in a horrific blur.

They were placed on their knees and lined up next to each other, weeping and pleading, until only Star herself remained, the broken-out wall at her back and everyone else before her.

She caught eyes with Lovelace, uttering an "I'm sorry" under her garbled breath.

"I am the one who needs apologize to you. He got what was coming to him. You did nothing wrong, child."

At those words the Madam shut her eyes, knowing that as she finished it would be the last thing she'd say. The boss drew his own firearm, pressed it to her temple, and pulled the trigger. A steel bolt inside the chamber of the barrel imbedded into her skull before instantly withdrawing, painted in her blood.

"Burn the place… burn it all!" he commanded over the women's terrified screams. "And take this one!" He side-swiped his gun against Star's forehead, causing her to reel almost out of the gaping hole in the wall. "I want to kill her slowly!"

Star was the last one not bound, and both of the goons focused their attention on her. But they hesitated awkwardly, as if waiting for the other to move first.

"What are ya waiting for!" the boss yelled, leveling his gun into the back of Beatrix's orchid locks.

Neither of his men wanted to touch Star, unsure of her power, or how she'd killed Maximus. While they mustered up the courage, Star could see the boss's finger pull the trigger.

The sound of wet bone tore Star back into the reality of the moment; seeing Beatrix's body slump to the floor triggered her reflexes to flee, like a racehorse that heard it's bell, the release gates opening to allow it to run.

She turned around and dashed for the crumbled brick hole. She leapt out of it, almost without seeing, grabbing hold of a fire escape ladder barely clinging to the side of the building on rusted hinges.

Ths boss barked for one of his men to exit through the front of the building and beat her to the street, ordering the other to light the place up. As Star's eyes filled with warped vision from overflowing tears she could hear the sound of glass bottles breaking, the whoosh of flames and crackling tinders. She heard the bolt-gun fire again and again as the ladder creaked beneath her weight.

The ladder allowed her to finish descending into the alley before it unhinged, bringing another slab of wall down with it. More debris crumbled off the building, the plaster and lathe giving way like a loose scab of skin over the bricks.

She heard the goons shouting whoops and hollers as the flames reached higher and engulfed the beautifully sad building. They knew her only route was towards the main street. She'd have to face them eventually and they knew it, waiting her out as if smoking out a hare from its rabbit hole.

But something was still calling to her.

As she kicked along the broken ground, she listened harder to the tugging in her mind and heart, holding the last trinket she had from her former life in her palm. The beautiful slave collar reflected her face a dozen different ways in the surrounding firelight, due to the cracks running across its surface. She would miss her friends: the childishness of Willow and free-spirited nature of Beatrix, even the callous sarcasm of Ginger. She'd have to leave it all behind.

"I have to."

She found a gaping sewer drain with edges heaped over with trash, snot-colored sludge dripping down into an unknown abyss. It was there she let the collar slip free from her fingers, allowing it to fall into the depths, forgotten.

She prepared to head into the main street, her heartbeats pulsing in her throat as she faltered in the alley. The thing that was drawing her stole her attention, as if her awaiting assailants were mere annoyances by comparison to it's pull. That thing began to call harder.

She was distraught, but followed the feeling until she staggered back a step in surprise. She suddenly saw a large man, not one of the well-dressed goons, covered in a thick blanket of rubble on the ground. And several feet in front of him there was a satchel, purse-like and splayed open, ripped along a seam. Out from the bag and laying on the ground, like a brand new sparkling toy, was a wand.

She bent down, the voice in her mind hypnotizing her to reach for it, screaming into her heart as if she was meant to –

She couldn't resist the voices anymore and so she proceeded to pick the wand. At that instant her fingers locked around the handle of the wand.

**Chapter 4 was written by SledgePainter.**


	5. The Starlight Guide

With the monsters and heavy atmosphere leaving them behind, they could finally somewhat let their guard down. Even with the wand in their possession, as long as they were in the Warnicorn Metro, they weren't truly safe. Which Kasper so kindly pointed out.

"We need to get out of this stinking place. Like, 10 minutes ago."

"All in due time," responded Lucan.

"Due time?! What more in the hell do you want to do in here? Are you trying to find more ways to get us killed?"

"Will you calm down? There was nothing - not a sound, or a movement - ever since we started to climb the stairs. It is safe to assume that the worst is behind us. And in this case - literally behind us."

"That doesn't mean shit and you know it!"

"All right. Let's test your theory of blood sucking monsters lurking behind our backs." Lucan turned around and focused his sight into the distance. The tunnel was semi-lit, as many lights were broken due to passage of time. But even so, the sound coming from afar was what put it off. "Do you hear that?" he asked Kasper.

"What?"

"Exactly. Now, keep your irrational fear in check. Look at Kobi - he managed to calm down just fine. And that says something. Isn't that right, Kobi?"

"Uhm." His answer was short and barely audible. The reason why he was so calm. It was as if his whole world was in their newly acquired wand; it fascinated him. He didn't know why, however, there was this warmth emanating from it. Whenever he started to feel anxious, he just looked at it and immediately felt like nothing could happen to him.

"See?"

"But…!"

"No buts! We are on our way out. I suggest to leave your doubts here as we march on."

Kasper had plenty to tell, but no desire to go against him for all costs, so he decided to keep it to himself. He had a point though: as long as they were still in this forsaken place, anything could happen.

That anything happened a lot sooner than he anticipated, although not in a way he expected. The long and barebone tunnel they were walking in was up until this point lit with somewhat working lights, but after a certain point they went dark. The path clearly continued, but the light did not.

"Hmm," pondered Lucan. "This is interesting."

"Not the word I would have used."

He turned back to check if there was a change in the scenery from which they came. "The lights are still working behind us, so unless the electricity is cut off in this particular place, we have to assume this sudden change has to have a meaning."

"And what would that be?"

"Let's see: if we take into consideration that we, supposedly, didn't miss anything of value on our way here…"

"That's a big if…"

"...then the logical conclusion would be that this place is hiding something important."

"Important, you say…" Kasper went to check both walls on the sides by touching and even smashing them. "Nothing. This better not be some kind of stupid puzzle."

"I don't believe it is. Look." He showed both of them what appeared to be a cutout in the ceiling above.

"A way out?"

"Most of the time problems tend to have simple solutions. And this appears to be the answer to our escape from this place."

After he concluded his theory, all the lights in the hallway went off, except for the one near them.

"That was random," noted Kasper.

"Or perhaps not." He looked down at the wand he was holding in his hand. There were residual sparks flying around it and its colors were slightly less intense.

"I don't like the idea of being led by inanimate objects."

"I have to concur that this situation is bizarre, but so far it has been beneficial. It looks like it wants to get out as much as we do. We have a common goal, which is good for us."

"That's cool and all, but wands don't have their own mind, right?"

"We don't really know. Up until now we only knew about one - belonging to queen Omnia - and our knowledge about it is severely limited. For all we know they can even talk."

"I hope not."

"Whatever the case, we need to proceed with opening the hatch. Kobi?" Lucan reached his hand to Kobi to take the wand.

But the big guy wasn't paying attention to anything they were saying. Strangely enough, even the loss of light didn't throw him off. There was something special about the wand that was drawing all his attention.

Lucan softly laid his hand on his shoulder. "You alright?"

"I like it. Can I keep it?"

"I'm afraid not, as we are going to surface and others can't see we have it. Its mere existence needs to be kept as secret."

"But… But…"

"I'm sorry, but this is the way it needs to be. Now, hand it over, so I can hide in my backpack." Even despite his direct approach, Kobi was still reluctant to let go of the wand. "You can hold it once we are back at HQ."

"Will you keep it safe?"

"Absolutely."

"O-Okay." Still unsure, he gave this thing that was occupying his mind into his care.

"With this out of our way, we need to get a move on. Kobi, if you'd be so kind?"

The massive man reached out to the hatch above and with his strong hands grabbed its handle. By the sound it was making while he was trying to open it made it clear that this particular hatch hadn't been used in a very long time. It tried its best to resist Kobi's force, but eventually it gave way and loudly revealed a pathway leading straight up.

Lucan checked the tunnel with his flashlight. "Except for dust, somewhat narrow space and this uncomfortably rusty ladder, it looks safe for us to traverse. Kobi, you'll take point, in case some unwanted surprises will be waiting for us and you Kasper will cover our back."

"Let me guess: in case of unwanted surprises?"

Lucan peered into the darkness behind them and listened to its sounds. "As a precaution."

"Uhm…"

"All right then. Let's move."

The tunnel was indeed narrow and Kobi wasn't happy about it one bit. But even less happy were the two unfortunate souls below him; he was scrapping all the dirt as he was moving along, falling it down on them.

"Pfft-pfft! BLUEGH! Fuck, I will be cleaning my hair for weeks!"

"The sooner we'll get out the better. Keep moving on, Kobi."

As they were progressing with their ascent, the air was getting lighter and fresher. A clear sign of better things to come. All they had to do was to suffer some more dust and dirt. And so they did in great disgust, until Kobi reported that he had reached the end.

"Finally, we can get out of this shithole!"

"But it's shut!"

"What do you mean shut?!"

"I can't move it."

"Use your muscles, dammit!"

"I am. See? It won't budge."

"You've got to be fucking kidding me!"

"Kasper, wouldn't you have something that could remove it?" asked Lucan.

"Sure I can remove it. And us along with it."

"I meant something non-explosive."

"I'm a demolitions expert, not a gardener."

"Good point. Kobi, I'm sorry, but you are our only chance of getting out of here."

"But it won't move!"

"Are you sure you did your best?"

"Yes!"

"Your absolute best?"

"Y-Yes."

"So you did everything you could to open that hatch…"

"Well- I mean-"

"You have to get it open. You are our only chance. Do you understand?"

"I do, but…"

"What?"

"The last time I opened something that was closed so hard I got arm aches."

"You will have aches all over your body, if you don't open the damn hatch!" yelled Kasper.

"The pain will subside over time," Lucan was calming him down. "In fact, I should have something with me that should help you."

"Really?"

"For sure. So, will you open it?"

"Errm, okay."

With nervousness in his voice, he leaned against the hatch and gave all his strength into opening it. Kasper couldn't see anything, but Lucan witnessed how his body was shaking and struggling to move the hatch, while the hatch was struggling to stay shut. To anyone else this would look like a pointless attempt, but he knew that when Kobi put all of his attention toward something, there was no obstacle he couldn't overcome.

And so the unmovable object capitulated against the unstoppable force. How that went on, however, was unusual. The hatch did open, but before that it hit something and tossed it away. They couldn't see what that was, or why there would be anything on top of the hatch, but, truth be told, they stopped concerning themselves with it almost immediately. The way out was open and they were just looking forward to leaving this mold-infested place for good.

Without much thought, they all jumped out cheering about their successful escape and consequently, the success of their mission. It did not take them long to notice that their surroundings were not quite what they were expecting to see. They thought that the tunnel would lead somewhere up onto a street if they were lucky or more likely into some random outlet in the middle of nowhere. This wasn't nowhere. It was very specific somewhere and none of the five people occupying it couldn't understand what the hell was happening.

"You didn't anticipate this, didn't you?" asked Kasper.

"No, I did not," responded Lucan.

Albeit surprised, Kobi's attitude was more uplifting than that of his colleagues. "Uhm hello?"

The only response he got came from a child standing next to a young girl, that appeared to be pregnant. "Hello." Its voice was, despite the situation, surprisingly calm. As was the facial expression of the girl, although she was displaying some level of confusion as to what was going on.

All of this, of course, wasn't lost on Lucan. It took him a moment to readjust to this new and unexpected situation, but his mind was already working on analyzing it. Puzzle pieces were starting to fall in their place and the picture they were creating was bizarre. The situation had the potential of turning it into a serious problem if left unchecked.

"Is this your sister?" asked Kobi to the child.

"No."

This answer left him confused, but not Lucan.

"Is that…?" Kasper whispered over to him.

"It appears so."

The place they were in was the living room of a house. But not just any house. One that clearly belonged to a wealthy family. Which was another matter entirely, one that would be too difficult to explain to someone like Kobi.

The rich inhabitants of Mewmans were basically living in a bubble. A dystopia in which nothing bad ever happened, just constant pleasures from dawn to dusk. They had no idea what was happening outside their lives, nor did they want to know, Omnia made sure of that. So when these two individuals saw their TV being thrown against the wall, followed by three unknown men coming out of a mysterious hole in the floor, they simply didn't have the foggiest as to how to react.

Lucan took the initiative. "Are your masters home?" The girl didn't say a word, just nodded her head in disagreement. "We are lucky. Uhm, please, sit down with your child, we will be on our way shortly. How old are you, if I may ask?"

"Fourteen," answered the girl with a barely audible voice.

"Fucking hell!" reacted Kasper.

"And how old is this little angel?" he aimed his question at the child politely sitting next to her.

"I am three years old!" responded the kid with great pride.

"This is sickening!"

"They are getting desperate. Looks like the distribution of faulty DNA is speeding up even more in here than down there."

"They can't possibly keep doing this forever!"

"I'm afraid they can. And much worse than this. Anyway, we need to move. Her owners can get back any minute. Kobi, close the hatch tightly, and put all the stuff back in its place. With any luck, they won't notice nothing."

"But we can't go out in these clothes. They would bring too much attention."

"The regular folks would barely notice us, but random police patrol might have some uncomfortable questions I'd like to avoid answering. We need to blend in. Erm, girl, where do your masters keep clothing?"

"Upstairs in the bedroom. Do you want to go into bedroom?" The way she answered the question was a bit unsettling, but they were left with no choice but to play along.

"Uhm, yes, I suppose. Take us to the bedroom."

"Stay here," she told her child in a calm voice and led the duo of men upstairs.

While Kobi was keeping himself busy with fixing up the living room, Kasper with Lucan were led through the entrails of this luxurious household. Of course, the underground Resistance had basic information how upper Mewni looks like, but reading scarce information and experiencing it first hand proved to be different. For them, this place was indescribable.

"Here we are," the girl pointed her hand toward a set of doors, which she then opened.

The room before them left each of them stood there in pure awe.

"Damn," noted Kasper, "I feel cheap."

"You are cheap. Here, the wardrobe. Help me out finding properly sized clothes."

Despite their expectations, the contents of the wardrobe were even more luxurious than everything else they had seen so far in the house.

Kasper couldn't believe his eyes. "I can appreciate a fancy fashion sense, but this is ridiculous! Check this shit out: this cloak has more gems on it then it has actual cloth!"

"We didn't come here to criticize their choices in fashion. Take whatever fits your and Kobi's sizes so we can go."

"Already done."

"Excellent."

Having acquired all that they would need, they spun around to head for exit, but were greeted with a most unexpected offering.

"WHAT THE FUCK?!" yelled Kasper.

"All right, now this is embarrassing even for me," said Lucan, as he turned his head away.

"Why in the hell are you standing there naked?!"

"You said you wanted to go to bedroom."

"For clothes, not you!"

"You don't want me?"

"Are you stupid or something?"

"Leave her be. She doesn't know she is doing something wrong. She was groomed into total and absolute obedience."

"But we don't own her."

"That makes no difference to her."

"You mean to tell me that if I would tell her to kill herself, she would do it?"

"Better to not say such things out loud."

"Right."

"Darling, take your clothes back up."

"As you wish."

"Then go down to your child and continue doing what you were doing before our arrival."

She silently nodded and went back to the living room.

Lucan was keen to leave as soon as possible. "Quickly, let's grab Kobi and get out before some similarly unfortunate occurrences can happen again."

"Yeah, this place is fucked up."

They expected an uneventful return and swift exit to the evening streets Mewni. With the girl in her place, they didn't expect anything to happen that could hinder their intentions to return to HQ with the wand. Except for the sudden arrival of the owners of the household.

"What is the meaning of this?! Who are you and what are you doing in here?!"

Kasper looked at Lucan for answers.

"Hello!" It would end up being Kobi who first attempted to break the tension in the most unusual way. "We were just checking on your children." His geniality was genuine, but as usual misplaced and made the whole situation a lot worse.

"What my colleague meant was that we… heard unusual sounds coming from your home and we… have decided to check if everything is right."

"Do you take us for idiots?!"

"Yeah, pretty much," responded Kasper with his typical flair.

That pushed the woman over the edge. "I'm calling the authorities!"

But something in the room had a different idea of how this mess could be resolved. At first, no one saw it. Afterwards though, despite Lucan's backpack being thick, there was a slight glowing emanating from inside. And it was getting stronger with each second. Eventually Kasper took notice of it and alerted Lucan about it.

"Glowing? You mean… that thing?"

"What else in there can glow?"

As the light was getting stronger, the lights inside the house started to flicker. Both of them exchanged confused looks. But as fast as the situation got weird, it went back to normal, with the exception of a sudden change in the television broadcast:

"_We interrupt this program to inform all the fair citizens of Mewni about the vicious attack of the so-called Resistance. Approximately fifteen minutes ago a large group of savage monsters killed several dozen peaceful Mewmans during their shopping spree in our biggest shopping center. The blood bath then continued throughout the streets where clueless citizens were stabbed and murdered in the most gruesome ways. The authorities are requesting that all remaining citizens run for the nearest sanctuary and wait for further instructions."_

The couple looked at each other nervously. They never thought that Resistance would ever be so stupid to launch a direct attack, so seeing intruders in their home didn't make them think it could be one of them. They didn't dare to move and neither did the trio. It was a stalemate, though nobody was clear on who was stalling who. With the desire to protect their assets being stronger than the fear of Resistance, they risked it, grabbed the girl and her child and went straight for the exit, while hastily giving her instructions what to do and how to behave. In just one minute the trio were left alone.

"What the hell just happened?" asked Kasper.

"I'm not sure," responded equally confused Lucan.

"Did we really launch an attack?"

"That… doesn't seem likely."

"Do you think that…"

Lucan took down his backpack and reached into it to take out the wand. It wasn't glowing anymore, but there was a subtle change in its color palette. "It appears to have awakened. Combining it with what happened in the metro, this suggests that perhaps wands do have… personality, for lack of a better word."

"If that's true, then I don't even want to know what Omnia's wand might be like."

"With this in our possession, we can learn that pretty soon."

"You really think that's a good idea?"

"That's ultimately up to the HQ, but I assure you they were pushing towards this very end for quite some time. Without the wand, the queen is just a regular mortal."

"But with the wand she can smite us!"

"And that's why with this we can finally push forward."

"Even if that's the case, do you really think we can control it?"

"One step at a time. Kobi, you all right?"

The big boy was sitting on the couch, obviously shaken and scared. "I don't wanna go outside."

"I'm sure nothing has happened."

"R-Really?"

"Of course. We just, uhm... That was just to scare them off."

"So there won't be rivers of blood flowing down the streets?"

"Rivers of what? Where did you hear it?"

"Kasper told me what would happen if I didn't keep up with you."

"Really?" he pounded a rhetorical question, while he turned his head to impale his teammate standing next to him with his eyes. "We will talk about this later."

"Oh come on! He wouldn't shut up!"

"Kobi, put these clothes on. Before we go out, we need to blend in with the crowd. As for you, Kasper… Just stay silent. The last thing we need is Kobi panicking."

With the home owners gone, wand neatly hidden away from sight and the trio clothed as wealthy Upper Mewmans, they were ready to start the return journey back to Mewni's bowels. Which was now far more complicated than originally planned, as the safest route was some distance away and not used by the rich. So the only way to get back without attention was going deeper into the most extravagant part of the city. It was a part which they knew very little about. Their goal was to reach the manufacturing area, wherever that might be.

There they were. A trio of grown up men dressed in noble clothing they apparently didn't like.

"I feel weird."

"This will allow us to pass through the city undetected."

"It's itchy," added Kobi.

This probably wasn't helping their effort to blend in, however the biggest show was yet to come. The first to notice it was Kobi, who after witnessing the scene just a minute ago, got agitated. And there is nothing subtle about a huge man nervously looking around in a place that is considered to be a paradise.

Kasper noticed this sudden change in his behaviour and he wasn't pleased by it. "Kobi, what the fuck has gotten into you?! Calm down or you'll blow our cover!"

"The- The- The-"

"The-the-the what? There is nothing in here."

With shaking hand, he pointed to Lucan's glowing backpack. It was now even stronger than before.

"Lucan! Your backpack - it's glowing again! And this time it looks like it's trying to illuminate this whole fucking street!"

"Wait, what? Why would it be glowing?" He turned around, but saw nothing and no one out of the ordinary. "I see nothing suspicious."

"Yeah, well, if your theory is true, then who knows what that thing is thinking it's doing. And right now it's pulling attention onto us!"

"But why?"

"You're the one here with a big brain; you figure it out!"

While both of them were busy arguing among each other, Kobi's fear locked his sight onto the magical light tearing its way out. So he was the only that noticed a change in the way the light was shaped. Despite being covered under a thick layer of textile, the glow was slowly, but steady shifting, as if following something. Fear or not, Kobi's natural curiosity took over and made him to check what exactly it was that the wand was pointing to. It didn't take him long to find it on the other side of the street and his eyes locked onto the object, he had trouble understanding it. So he asked Lucan to help him out by tapping him on his shoulder.

"Not now, Kobi."

But he didn't allow himself to be denied, so he tapped him again and this time with greater force.

"Kobi, that hurts! What is happening to you?"

Instead of replying, he pointed with his finger to an object that was apparently moving. To anyone else, said object wasn't anything special, but to them seeing this particular object was a shocking revelation.

"This cannot be…"

But it was. Against all rational thought and logic, the girl from the metro was there. Granted, clothed differently and the makeup certainly changed her looks somewhat, but there was no mistake that it was her.

"How the fuck is this even possible?"

"Kasper, look at the light. What do you see?"

And he saw the exact same thing as Kobi. "It is-"

"-moving? Then we were right. That girl is the owner."

"But how is this possible?"

"You're as curious as I am, but our current predicament demands immediate attention: she is the key to unlocking the wand's full power."

"Well, that is nice and all, but how do you propose to, uhm… use her?"

"First, we need to retrieve her."

"That doesn't really answer my question."

"One step at a time. We need to-"

But before he could finish his thought, the girl entered a cab in great haste.

"Hmm. This is unfortunate."

"Not the word I would have used."

"Tell me, what is the wand doing right now?"

"Still pointing to her."

"As I expected. There is a connection between them. That connection will allow us to follow her wherever she goes."

"So you're saying that we need to follow the light…"

"I hope that your ability to stay incognito is better than your puns. Keep my backpack closed and peek inside only when necessary. Move out."

Shortly after that, the cab started to move away from them. Even despite being covered by local clothes, the unpredictable nature of the mission worried him. Back in his head, Lucan was aware of the immense risk he was exposing himself and his team to. Still, he was hoping that by the time anyone would have any questions about their business in there, they would be long gone.

Having proper clothes was only one part of being undercover. The other that was equally important was having proper behaviour. Lucan could pretend to be a native upper Mewmans, but Kasper had to keep peeking into his backpack, which was weird on its own. Further worrying was Kobi, who was having a field day, and he wasn't shy of making it obvious.

"Kobi!" Kasper rebuked him. "Stop eyeballing everything and everyone around you! You look like a tourist!"

"But it's so pretty in here!"

"This ain't a fucking vacation! Being undercover means avoiding attention, not to stick every eyeball in the damn city onto us!"

Kobi tried to heed his warning, but he was like a child in a fun park; behind every corner there was a fascinating new light, interesting shape, mesmerizing colors and… beautiful young girls in every direction. Each step they took bolstered their numbers.

"Damn," said Kasper. "If I didn't know better I'd say this place is a giant brothel."

Lucan nodded. "Indeed. Their number seems excessive."

"Do you think that everyone is using them like we saw in that family?"

"Such a theory is hardly far fetched. That being said, we aren't here to play moral police. Every extra minute spent here means increased danger of being uncovered. It is imperative that we find her in the shortest time possible."

"Yeah, about that. We might have a slight issue." Kasper noticed that the wand was pointing to a place where all the girls seemed to be gathering. It wasn't surrounded by any walls, so they could take a good look at it.

"Seems to be a market of some kind," noted Lucan. "And you say the girl is inside?"

"It looks like it."

"We don't have any other choice then. We'll go in, but incognito, alright? The last thing we need is to attract unwanted attention."

Trying not to raise suspicion among the buyers minding their own business, they calmly stepped into the outer ring. No one noticed their arrival.

"Huh, this was easy," noted Kasper.

But Lucan saw it differently. "They all look almost the same," he whispered. "And we can't rely on the wand's guidance in here without risking exposure."

"So what do you propose then? That we ask around?"

"Don't be ridiculous. We need to do this the hard way: we split up and look for her."

"Really? That's your ingenious plan? Did you look at our big idiot in here? He's this close from drooling all over his suit. We let him alone and he'll end up befriending one of these ladies."

"Hmm, that's actually a good point."

"Yeah, no kidding."

"Then perhaps we can-"

"You're thinking too much. Here, let me show you how the master does it. Hey, Kobi!"

"Hmm?"

"I saw two policemen behind us."

"Oh no."

"What are you doing?" asked Lucan.

But Kasper ignored him. "Oh no is right, because they saw you looking at girls all the time and now they want to arrest you!"

"Bu- Bu- I didn't do anything wrong!"

"They don't care. You broke their law and now they want to imprison you and torture you!"

"…?!"

"My point exactly. So we need to create chaos to ditch them. Can you do that?"

If there was something Kasper was even better at than demolition was getting under Kobi's skin. It didn't take long for the big guy to react to this information; he spread his arms and started to run, while moving them around and yelling various sounds. That did get a reaction out of the buyers, but he felt they needed a little nudge. "There's a fucking maniac on the run! Save yourselves!"

Lucan couldn't believe his eyes. "What did you just do?!"

"Helped! Look - nobody is paying attention to us."

"But now she will run away from us!"

"So what? We have her wand to show us where she is and no one to bother us."

"No one except for the policemen that were alarmed by this."

"Oh…"

"As usual, you acted before thinking it through. Now we need to hurry and look for her before security will come to look for us."

Kasper couldn't deny that he liked what he saw. Kobi was off the leash, making his way through everyone like an angry bull and even destroying a few merchandise stands along the way. It was like witnessing an explosion up close without the fear of losing limbs. It was poetic.

Lucan on the whole was more worried of losing the girl, although to be fair he had lost her once already a few minutes ago. Except this time she was within his grasp, maybe even running alongside him, but because of all the people running around he couldn't possibly see her. He found it to be unacceptable.

Kobi was in full blown panic mode. The idea of him feeling pain was so scary that he couldn't stop rampagning the place. No matter what, he was determined to remain free. That determination wasn't getting weaker even after glancing at the second exit on the other side. The way to it was surprisingly empty, since very few people have a reason to run that way. Except for one. It was this person in particular that made him stop and calm down enough to recognize the silky smooth blond hair waving in the air.

"Why the hell did you stop?!" shouted Kasper. "They can be right behind us!"

"The girl…"

Lucan instantly locked his sight onto the place he was referring to. "Excellent job, Kobi! Lead the way!"

Most of the people were already gone, which made the pursuit much easier. That was the good news. The bad news was that the girl managed to step into yet another cab and was driving away.

"Unbelievable…" said Lucan.

"Well, that just happened. Now what, big boss?" asked Kasper.

"We follow her, what else."

Kasper made sure that no one is watching them, then opened his backpack to check on the wand's guiding light. It was there all right, but the light wasn't as bright as before. "It appears it's getting weaker."

"We need to hurry. Now, where is it pointing to?"

Kasper focused his sight into distance. He couldn't believe his own eyes. "Uhm, manufacturing area… Why would she go there of all places?"

"I don't know. But this plays to our cards. There is a guarded entrance to the lower levels. With any luck, the guards will stop her and guard her long enough for us to pick her up."

"And how do you suggest we do that?"

"We'll cross that bridge when we get there."

Having a clear vision of their goal made their traveling a lot simpler. They checked, subtly, several times to confirm that they weren't being followed, but this close to the industrial district there were fewer and fewer people to see. Mewmans weren't interested in how their stuff was being made, they only cared about when and where they could purchase it. This meant that seeing a group of wealthy individuals in these parts was highly unusual.

The shine of the healthy Upper Mewni was fading away, as the dirt and dust of the industrial zone began creeping in. Where their surroundings were once shiny and bright buildings, what they saw became grim, grimy replacements for their shiny counterparts. Architecture was also changing, more abruptly too, replacing extravagant designs with dull and boring shapes copied from one building onto the next one. Scarce lamps were casting shy lights onto this saddening scenery.

They felt at home here.

Seeing familiar surroundings gave them a much needed confidence boost. They felt like they could understand this place, its inner workings and unwritten rules, despite still being within spitting distance of the queen's domain. And as they were getting closer to the massive buildings hiding huge machines, the need to come up with the plan was becoming more and more urgent.

Lucan raised his head. "We have arrived."

Even without the gate, the complex structures ahead were clear signs that this wasn't the regular Upper Mewni anymore. Still, despite the surroundings being more familiar, their intactness made it all a bit alien to them; their siblings below were vastly damaged. Surprisingly, they didn't see a single soul, no worker of any kind passed by as they were moving among the monumental buildings and complicated pipes, even though the hum was a clear indication that the machinery was working.

"It must be controlled remotely," thought Lucan.

Kasper raised his eyebrow. "What kind of power source are they using?"

"Magic, probably."

"Magic?! They are digging their own graves with it!"

"They apparently don't care and neither should you. We have a pressing matter on our hands. Look up ahead."

They focused their eyes into the foggy distance where they saw a glimmering light.

"Is that what I think it is?" asked Kapser.

"Indeed."

"So what's your plan then?"

"Kobi."

The big man looked at him with visible confusion. But Kasper knew exactly what he meant. "You can't be serious."

"I am."

"What happened to stealth?"

"That is a luxury we cannot afford anymore. Taking the girl takes priority. She is the key to our success."

"Don't you think that's a bit far fetched?"

"Our opinions have no place in this matter. The fact is that she has the ability to unlock the wand's potential."

"Yeah, about that, it isn't glowing anymore."

"It doesn't need to. We know where she is."

"No, we know where she went. For all we know she might be on her way to the queen."

"The wand would show us that if it were true."

"You can't know that for sure."

"Silence. We're going in."

The atmosphere in this lifeless part of the city was eerie, maybe even spooky for the faint of heart. But the three persons lurking through its mist weren't interested in how the place felt. Their goal lay on the opposite side, where they hoped to reunite a long lost pair.

It was almost a miracle to catch up with her. They hid behind a container near the entrance to the lower Mewni and inspected the scene. Lucan was right: the guards did hold her. Unfortunately for them they didn't stall her long enough. The only thing they saw from her was her back passing through the gate. She was out of their reach once again and this time going to a place that could very well shorten her existence.

Lucan was baffled. "She wanted to enter lower Mewni this whole time?"

And so was Kasper. "This girl… I don't know if she is so smart, or so stupid, but her chances of survival just lowered to the minimum."

"Whatever reasons she has, her going to our domain has the upside of us knowing it better than her. We can finally gain an advantage."

"Yeah, that's a cool plan and all, but how do you want to go through the security guards? The moment they see us they'll be onto us like flies on a pile of shit."

Maybe they heard him, because both guards ran out of the security both, however in the opposite direction.

"They are after her!" noted Kasper.

"I can see that," responded Lucan. "We need to act quickly. Kobi, stop them! They can't reach her!"

It was always amazing for them to watch him run. Despite his massive size, Kobi could run fast. And there are not many things scarier than seeing a huge ball of muscle running at you at full speed. The guards were so focused on catching the girl that they didn't notice his heavy footsteps gaining on them. Once they did, it was too late; Kobi grabbed their heads and smashed them together. They both instantly went down to the ground.

Lucan and Kasper quickly caught up with him. They checked their life signs.

"Alive," Lucan informed.

"Yeah, this one too."

"Is that a bad thing?" asked Kobi confused.

"No no, this is good," Lucan assured him.

"But that is not good," added Kasper. "Look - the elevator is on its way down."

"That is troublesome. But we can still catch up with her. She is now entering our domain, which will finally give _us_ the advantage."

"Let's just hope others won't take advantage of her before we can catch up to her."

"Stay positive." Once it stopped, he pressed the button to call it. "Time to go home."

Everything was greasy, smokey and dirty. The air was heavy and smelled like wet dog. Sunshine was nowhere to be found and everything was artificially illuminated. They were indeed home. The upper citizens never saw this place, they never learned how exactly it looked, nor had they ever cared. But if one of them happened to end up in here, they would probably start screaming and senselessly running around.

At least, that was the general consensus among those living in this swamp. When they stepped out of the smelly old elevator, they were expecting to see her to keep doing just that. But she was nowhere to be seen.

Kasper grabbed his head. "What the hell is this girl?! Is she fucking with us or what?!"

Lucan took a calmer approach, although it was apparent that he too wasn't happy how the whole situation was unravelling in front of his eyes. "Press on. There is only one way from here. She couldn't possibly could get far."

"Yeah? And what the hell makes you think that?! We have been chasing her for a good half an hour without much success!"

Lucan ignored his remarks and led his comrades deeper into subterranean Mewni, where law was just a differently labeled rule book. It was for this very reason that he was worried and keen to find her pronto. Down here, the line between crime and police was so blurred that more often than not it all came down to how you spelled them. The society basically consisted of different anarchist groups breathing down each others' necks.

All these descriptions were running through Lucan's mind when he was observing the scene from afar, hidden behind a pile of trash on the side of the street, witnessing her being cornered by a bunch of people. "We are in trouble."

"What else is new…"

But Kobi felt optimistic. "I can go there and just take her away. Gently, of course."

"As appealing as it sounds, we cannot do that. We don't know what exactly is happening over there, or who she is with. We could endanger her life."

"I can't believe I'm going to say this, but I agree with Kobi. She obviously isn't having a fucking tea party with those people and while they are all focused on her, we can just fly in, break their skulls and just as fast flee away with her _finally_ in our possession."

"I said no. We don't have the complete picture. It's too risky."

"Listen-"

"After her! Don't let her get away!"

"What?"

They all focused their sight into the distance. The girl managed to run some distance away, but was apprehended shortly after. Luckily for them, the place they were standing in now was lit well enough to recognize her followers.

"They're just a regular street thugs! Surely we can take them down, right?"

"Yes! Kobi, yo-"

But before he could give them instructions, he was interrupted by a siren and a pair of blue/red light. The situation just got a lot worse.

"Oh for fuck sake, give me a break! When will this shitshow end?!"

"Shh, just watch."

And so he watched. He watched as the thugs fled the scene. He watched as an officer stepped out of the car, approached the girl, and after a short talk, as she went into the car with him. Then he watched as the car drove away.

"This… complicates things," noted Lucan.

"You think?!"

"Of all people it had to be Toffee."

"I don't like the lizard man," added Kobi.

"Yeah, well, nobody does, that's the fucking point. Who knows what he will do with her."

"Toffee isn't stupid. He will recognize her value."

"That doesn't really make it any easier for her. His 'values' are fucked up."

"Agreed. Which is why we are going to retrieve her from him."

"And how do you intend to do that?"

"With you."

Kasper gave him a long, empty stare. "You can't be serious."

"We are close enough to the HQ now. In the event of an onslaught, we call for backup."

"HQ won't risk a full on war with the police department!"

"They will once they learn the value of our mission!"

"That's crazy! You're crazy!"

"It is imperative to capture the girl before Toffee realizes her potential. Try to imagine what would happen then."

"That's- that's a good point. But I still don't like it."

"Your liking it is not required, only your obedience. Let's go."

As they were moving towards local police headquarters, the street was getting weirder and branching out in all directions into smaller roads. Seeing people walking outside was more prevalent, leaving the dark alleys behind. In any other place this would mean increased security. Not here. The only change was the increased means of getting attacked. People living here weren't fond of bonding, so more likely than not they were forging paths just as a means to an end. Those who actually did stick together were seen as dangerous to the goals of others. And the most coherent group among them all was the Resistance.

Seeing their members walking on the street always piqued interest among locals, but seeing them dressed in fancy dresses from the surface had their full attention. Lucan was aware of this, as well as of the reaction of management, but his resolve couldn't be shaken by a few uptight rules. He knew that once they learned about the wand and the girl, they would be vindicated. All he had to do was blow up some walls and survive the aftermath.

Instead, it was his plan that blew up. They were on their way when they saw a massive explosion. Someone had beat them to it. People were running and screaming in every direction in pure panic mode. They were used to seeing a regular amount of street violence, but this was too much even for them.

"What is happening here?" said Lucan in disbelief.

Kasper was also looking at the damaged building with an open mouth. "Who would be stupid enough to attack the police like that?! I mean, I admire the pure stupidity of the person, but still. Wait, who is that running away?" Due to the smoke he had trouble recognizing the person's face, however one short window of clear air was enough for him to realize who it was. "It's the bitch that wanted to rob the girl! What the fuck does she think she's doing?!"

Before she disappeared in one of the side alleys, she stopped and yelled: "That's what you get for fucking with me, you pigs! MUHAHAHAHAHAHAHA!"

"How the fuck did she get explosives like that?! That's military grade stuff!"

Lucan had trouble processing the whole scene. The whole time he was chasing the blond girl, always being one step behind, always being careful with every decision he made. And this crazy person just walked in and blew up a huge chunk of wall, made a joke of it and left. He liked challenges, but the constant flow of failures ever since they left the Warnicorn Metro finally got to him.

"We're going in!"

Kasper looked at him in shock. "Are you crazy?! They'd be onto us the second we step foot inside!"

"This is not up for debate! We are done playing second fiddle! She is in there and we need to collect her while they are stunned. It's now or never. Now move!"

With the air being filled with thick fog form the explosion and with Kobi on point acting like a plow, the trio went to the rubble surrounding the entrance to the building. The structure itself wasn't extremely big, as many of its contents were hidden below the ground. Despite that it was still big enough to get lost in it. The explosion gave them two advantages: first, there was no one outside who could watch them entering the precinct, but most importantly the officers inside were either unconscious or barely standing.

"It's the resistance!"

Alas, there were a few that strongly objected to their presence.

"They broke through to the prison cells!"

"Are they in the basement?!"

"Get the steamhounds! Don't let them escape!"

Luckily, Kobi and his fist were there to put all of them to sleep with a few good aimed slaps. He was extra motivated to keep them out cold as he hated those awful creatures.

All the major parties in lower Mewni were keeping tabs on each other, so they had a general idea of where to look, though dust and rubble all around them made the search somewhat difficult.

"Do you see the stairs leading down?" asked Lucan.

"Stairs?!" responded Kasper. "I can barely see Kobi and he's fucking huge! But Lucan, they think we did this!"

"I don't care what they think! Just keep looking! She is somewhere in here! We can't leave without her!"

Time was pressing them and the dust was setting down too slowly. As the seconds were passing, the weight of the current situation was weighing on them. The longer they were there, the bigger the risk of facing an overwhelming opposing force, against which even Big Boy wouldn't do much. The diplomatic incident was unavoidable at this point, so the only thing they could hope for was for the HQ to have their backs. And for that they needed the girl.

"I see it!" informed Kobi, triumphantly.

"Where?" asked Lucan.

"In the right corner. There are damaged doors."

"Excellent work! Go to them and smash them open! We need to hurry!"

It was always fascinating to watch Kobi being so swift for his size. It took him a mere seven seconds to move himself in front of the doors and push them off of their hinges. They made a loud screech and landed a few meters down on the stairwell.

"Go, go, go!"

They found the correct room. They knew that because of Toffee's limp body lying in the dust. And also because their quarry was gone.

"Where is she?!" shouted Lucan, who was clearly losing it. "WHERE IS SHE?!"

"I don't know, alright?!" yelled back Kasper.

But Kobi kept his cool. "Maybe she escaped by there?" he asked as he was pointing his finger to the rather small entrance in the wall.

Like a hawk suffering from caffeine overdose, he moved his head like lightning to the spot on the neighbouring wall. There was indeed an opening. With a swift movement he came closer and inspected it for clues.

"It's a small cargo elevator! It looks like she used it to escape! We need to get out!"

Sadly, even his quick thinking wasn't fast enough to avoid the inevitable.

"Search everything, room by room! Don't leave a single piece of rubble untouched! We need to find Toffee!"

Kasper was first to react. "Shit! Now what!"

Lucan looked on into the opening. "We can use that to escape!"

"Are you nuts? That thing is so small that maybe, just maybe I would be able to fit through, but certainly not you and sure as hell not Kobi."

"No…"

"I'm sorry, but this might be the end of the line for us."

"NO! I refuse to give up! You… Blow our way out!"

"Did you hit your head?! I'd send this whole thing down onto us!"

"I COMMAND YOU!"

"You can shove your command up your ass! I ain't doing it!"

With the policemen on top, no way out, and Lucan being on the verge of complete mental breakdown, the tension could be sliced into pieces. All seemed hopeless and without a positive resolution in sight.

"Uhm, guys?"

"WHAT?!" they both shouted.

"I think the wand is trying to do something."

Lucan quickly regained at least part of his sanity. "What?" He quickly took down his backpack and brought out the wand. It was glowing like before, but now the intensity of the light was constantly rising. After mere seconds they couldn't see anything but bright white light filling up the room. All the sounds and voices subsided and were replaced by a subtle white noise, filling up their minds. Lucan couldn't focus and neither could Kasper. Kobi, on the other hand, was smiling. He had no problem looking directly into it, as if the ridiculous illumination didn't bother his eyes at all. He was just standing there, feeling content and happy.

"Yes," he agreed, although there was no voice heard.

He reached out for the wand, locked his massive palm around it and removed it from Lucan's grasp. The moment he lost touch with it he was tossed away together with Kasper against the stone wall. The impact was strong, but thankfully not damaging. They carefully tried to stand up, which resulted in painful moans.

"I'm not getting enough money for this kind of shit," lamented Kasper. "What happened?"

"I haven't the foggiest. All I know I was holding the wand and then Kobi- Wait."

"What?"

"Where is the wand?!"

"What do you mean?"

"I was holding it in my hand! And now it's gone!"

"What the hell?! How is that even possible!"

"I don't know!"

"Lucan?"

"Yes?"

"Where is Kobi?"

They inspected the place, but aside from Toffee's motionless body, they were alone. Neither Kobi nor the wand was anywhere to be found.

* * *

Kobi's body was thrown against a wall.

"Ouch!"

It took him a while to sort out his thoughts over the past few seconds. Slightly confused, he looked around. "Guys?" He noticed that he was alone, standing in a narrow alley that ran between a dirty building behind his back and an intriguing one made up from gaudy bricks. The windows on them were covered in dark colors, so he couldn't see what was inside. Yet strangely he felt he belonged there. It was then that he realized that his hand wasn't empty. He raised it up and noticed the wand still being securely locked inside his palm.

"I remember now!" he called out happily. "But I need to hide it." As he was searching for something to cover it with, he saw a familiar object resting on the ground near him. "Lucan's backpack. But where is he?" Kobi looked around, but he was the only one around. "And where is Kasper?" He once again took a look at the wand. "I can't wait for them. I promised. I'll take you there."

After hiding it inside, he took a journey deeper into the depths of the alley. He wasn't clear on where exactly he needed to go. The only thing he had was a sense of a general direction in which he should go. The road he was walking on didn't look like anything special. Aside from the weird looking building, which he never saw before, there was nothing that would tell him he was getting anywhere close to his goal.

His train of thought was abruptly interrupted by a massive explosion behind him.

"What was that?!"

It was this moment when the realization of him being completely alone hit him with full force. There was always someone with him, telling him what to do. The prospect of being on his own terrified him and he had trouble remembering why he was even there. He calmed down a bit after he noticed a colorful glimmer coming from the backpack. He peeked inside and noticed the wand emanating a wide range of colors.

"You're… welcome," he responded precariously. This and the weird creaking sound from above were the last thing he remembered before everything went black.

* * *

"I see him! Come over here!"

Both men quickly approached Kobi lying unconscious under a pile of rubble.

"Is he alive?"

"I feel his pulse and I don't see any fracture on his back or head. He looks fine, just beaten."

"Wake him up."

The man took a small vial and let him smell its contents. It didn't take long for him to abruptly wake up and start to catch his breath.

"Relax, slow down your breathing. You're under some rubble, but otherwise alive. Can you stand up?"

Kobi tried to recognize the two men standing over him. "Kasper? Lucan?"

"Can you stand up?" Kasper repeated.

"Y-Yeah, I- I think so." It took him some effort, but the debris wasn't too heavy.

"Where were you all this time?" asked Lucan.

"I don't understand."

"You were lost for two weeks. Where were you?"

"Two weeks? But I came here a minute ago."

"After you escaped with the wand and my backpack, we crawled through the elevator shaft. We barely made it out. But you were nowhere to be seen. We tried to come back a few days later and searched for you, but you were simply gone."

"Bu- I'm not…" Confused, he looked at Kasper.

"Don't look at me."

"I don't- Wand told me to go here. I thought this is where the girl is. I came here and then I saw that thing falling onto me and then… Kasper woke me up."

"Is that so? Where is the wand then?"

"It's right…" He pointed to the place where he expected it to be. "...there. Where- I had it in your backpack."

"The backpack is here, but it's empty."

Kobi didn't know what to say.

"Us, being surrounded at the police station? That happened two weeks ago."

"Two weeks? I remember… touching the wand and then being here."

"Why did you even touch it, Kobi?"

"It spoke to me."

"Really? It talked to you?"

"Yes. It wanted me to take it here."

"Why?"

"I thought it was telling me where the girl is. I knew how much you wanted to get to her, so I just did it. I shouldn't do that?"

"Kobi, whatever I or Kapser think is meaningless. The HQ believes you're an inside man."

"Who?"

"Yeah, that's what I kept telling them. But after they learned what we were bringing back and that we failed, they got… upset."

"But I was trying-"

"Look, the moment we detected a magical surge, they wanted to send a security detail to investigate it. But I convinced them that in case it'll be you, it would be more prudent if we would bring you in."

"Bring me… in?"

"I'm sorry, Kobi, but it's out of my hands. Was for two weeks now."

He looked confused and scared at both of them. Even Kasper wasn't happy with the situation.

"Come. You have a lot to answer for."

**Chapter 5 was written by Terepin.**


	6. In the Shadows

Car tires crunched over a patch of gravel as the vehicle atop them reversed from its parking space, its engine rumbling softly as the wheels turned and directed it through a serpentine roadway leading away from the Echo Creek Lodge. The noise went unnoticed by the young man sitting only a few yards off on a concrete bench besides a man-made pond. His head was down, eyes directed onto something that glinted in the light within his hands, though his eyes looked wholly distant from the object they blankly stared at.

The water of the pond would have been calm were it not for the fountain in the center spewing out thin streams from multiple spigots. There were some ghostly hints of orange and white beneath the water that swam underneath the ripples the water droplets cast out. The lad's eyes saw them but didn't pay them mind, his fingers fondling the ring unconsciously betwixt his fingers.

He wore a black hoodie and blue jeans, with a red shirt underneath. The sun was out, but it wasn't warm enough to dispense with the hoodie, and the wind slightly bit over his cheeks as it ruffled his chocolate brown hair. The area wasn't entirely devoid of people, as they came and went in and out of the Lodge, but it was vacant enough for him to escape into his own thoughts. No one would bother with him while sitting there, and no one knew he often chose this place to ground himself whenever his emotions got out of line.

His fingers turned and spun the ring. It was silver, forming the design work of a pentagram with a small diamond in its center. It was simple yet elegant, with smooth edges and just a touch of filigree along the five pointed ends. Five smaller red teardrop-shaped gemstones surrounded the singular diamond, complimenting it with their splash of bold color but only half the size of the prominent main stone.

Somewhere off behind him a dark, navy blue van pulled into the space that was left empty by the car that so recently had occupied it. The familiar crunch of gravel and a slight squelch to the brakes were yet again ignored in favor of blank staring at the ring and distant dancing water. The Echo Creek Lodge was a fairly popular hotel, or at least was the largest in all of Echo Creek, and had a slow but consistent stream of guests coming and going. The fountain was out front, with the parking area between it and the front glass double doors of the hotel. Even with people around though, he felt deeply isolated.

He took a deep inhale and reached back into his thoughts, holding onto the memory as it played out in his mind like he was watching a movie screen.

"Marco, come on."

The voice was from Jackie, whose green eyes rolled off to the side. Her eyebrows downturned, almost like a scowl.

He and Jackie were in their living room, watching a romantic comedy's ending on the television. The couple on screen had just gotten over a case of misplaced anger and over-the-top misunderstandings, and were embracing as the camera zoomed in to their kiss, the tumultuous hour and a half of silly drama beforehand forgotten completely, washed away as the happy conclusion music began to turn up.

The feelings the movie had stirred within Marco caused him to broach a subject that was always a sensitive one.

"Jackie," Marco began, but his eyes looked in various other directions than directly at hers, his hand nervously scratching the hair on the back of his neck which suddenly demanded his attention. "Jackie… I know it's not exactly what you planned for originally but-"

"Marco, how many times do we have to go through this?" Her voice was stern, and her arms crossed. A few minutes ago she was smiling and dipping her hands into their shared popcorn bucket, nestled up next to his chest… until he opened his mouth.

"I'm just saying that not everyone plans for these things, exactly, and… well… sometimes when they aren't even planned, they can become the best decisions ever."

Marco turned his nervous glance up to chance a look into Jackie's face. It appeared exactly how he expected to find it, flushed to the point her reddish freckles were beginning to vanish.

"I-I know, I know, but listen… uh… nobody really plans it. Wait, no, I mean, some do but…" he grunted as his tongue tied. "You know what I mean. And this would make us even closer than we are now."

She huffed and got up from the couch, the sudden emptiness of her place next to him sending a chilled feeling into his chest that he had fought off time and time again, with each conversation they had surrounding the same issue. The distance had been growing between them, every time it was hinted at and dared to tiptoe off his tongue. It was like the space between where he sat, and Jackie who now was across the room, was a tangible witness to it.

And yet he pressed it, anticipating a different result though knowing it might end the same as all the other arguments. He hated every second of it, but the hope fueled his desire. The movie had set the fire and it was burning in him.

"Jackie, we've been living together for two years. Don't you think it's time we kinda… make this official? I mean, we can wait until after the wedding of course, but, I'd like to start a family soon afterwards."

"As if love can somehow be made more official than getting engaged," she growled, standing in front of the kitchen fridge, facing the door where photos from all of their adventures over the years were stuck on with tiny taco magnets. They had been to warm sandy beaches, cold mountain ski resorts, wild animal adventure parks; other states and other countries, even island hopping in Hawaii to surf. Their travels were all documented right there on the fridge, held up by ambitious dreams that even she knew she could only put aside for so long.

Her shoulders drooped, her attitude softening slightly as she saw the many Marco smiles looking back at her from the photos.

"Look, Marco, I love you, but I enjoy my life – our lives – together as it is. All that will change with a baby." She unconsciously spun the golden engagement band on her finger.

"It won't change, it will just become better." He reached for the last remnants of rebuttal he could muster, preparing to wield his words to match her own like two swords clashing against each other. Maybe if he could have them collide somewhere in the middle, he would have a chance. "Instead of just me and you, it will be me and you, and a little third one, which would be the combined awesomeness of both of us."

"Haven't you heard about third wheels ruining a party?" she snapped.

"We'd… all party together?"

"What about all of these pictures?" Her hand flailed up across the surface. "Look at all of the places we've been. Didn't you enjoy being able to do all that with me?"

"What! Of course I did, Jackie, but this is dif-"

"It's not, Marco. When you have kids, you don't have money to go do these things anymore."

"We'd make it work! We always have. We'd do it together."

"It's not even really about the money." She closed her eyes and dipped her head, shielding her face slightly with her nearly white hair falling over the side of it. "There's so much more to it than that. You can't just pick up and leave when you feel like going out to a skate park or to see a movie. Everything has to be planned, and everything has to center around the baby, and bringing all of the baby things, and… and… it's just no, Marco."

"You make it out to be some kind of curse." He chuckled lightly, mostly to try and break the tension. "Just imagine the chubby little cheeks with your freckles on them, and such cute little feet kicking around, waiting for their first skateboard."

Her words blurted out before she could stop them. "To walk over all of your dreams, you mean."

He laughed. "It's just a baby."

She turned fiercely. "There is no _just_ a baby! It changes everything! It changes how we live and how we think, what we can do and where we can go; and we don't get to live for ourselves anymore but for someone else, twenty-four-seven!"

"How can I make you see that it isn't some big, dramatic, life-ending ruiner of things? My mom and dad were-"

"All about kids, yeah, I'm aware."

"That, yeah, but they were happier as a result. For my mom it was the best thing in her li-"

"That's who your mom is, though, Marco! She _wanted_ kids!"

"Will you let me speak without cutting me off, please?"

"Your mother's main ambition was just in being a mom, Marco, and raising kids. Of _course_ she wanted a family! Of _course_ she wants more kids! Of _course_! Because she just doesn't do much else with her life or want to go out and do bigger things than be just a mom!"

Marco's eyes grew larger, hearing more than just annoyance coming through his fiancé's voice, and stunned by her words, the verbal attack on his mother's choices. He tried to break through her rant but her hand sought to stop him. He started to speak but her voice overtook his until he gave up to let her finish.

"She doesn't get to do anything on a whim, ever…not that she'd even want to. But, you can't do that with kids, Marco. You think we could take trips to Europe just because we feel like it? Drop everything and go to the Grand Canyon or white water rafting because the idea popped into our heads to just jump in the car and go? I want to continue to do these things. I don't want to settle down like that, to stay at home all day with just the same four walls closing me in, and just - just become a nothing."

"Now wait a second. That was unfair and you know it."

He set the popcorn bucket down on the table next to the couch a bit harder than he'd intended, a few kernels popping out over the rim and falling to the floor. He still eyed her from his seat but was resolved to set aside the sharp sting of her words against his mother to continue the actual topic at hand, rather than follow her tangent. "My mom and dad have gone a lot of places and took me along since I was a baby, and loved every minute of it. My mother isn't a nothing in my eyes, and you won't be either. Let's be rational here."

The cheerful music from the movie grated against Jackie's nerves.

"Rational?" she chuckled angrily. "Oh yes, when you got older, sure, they enjoyed taking you along. But you _limited_ their fun. Face it, it's a lot less romantic to go to a cool resort and then have to worry about feeding a baby, changing a baby, nap time for baby, and not being able to sleep in anymore because the baby wakes up at all hours of the night crying."

Marco furrowed his brow. "You're being overly dramatic and refusing to even see the pros along with the cons. Can't we talk about this without you already being so defeated?"

Her shoulders lifted and fell, releasing some of the tension that had been building up, sighing almost sadly in resignation. "And… our alone time would be drastically cut in half. Where would our quality time together go?"

"We'd be a team in this. Do you think I'd leave it all to you? I'd change diapers too, and stay up to let you sleep. We'd share the responsibility. Sure, it wouldn't be super fun at first, I admit that; and I'm not saying it'll be a cakewalk, but it would be worth the reward." He added, before she could reply, "And my mom doesn't _regret _her choices. Where is this defensiveness coming from, Jackie? She wanted to be a mom but she's more than just that. You would be too."

"I'm not asking for that responsibility, though. That's not what _I'm_ asking for in life. Aren't you and I reward enough for each other?"

"Of course you are but that doesn't mean we can't be even more." He was about to rise, but she cut into his sentence unexpectedly, keeping him planted.

"My mother only had me, and I was even too much for her. She always regretted her lost years because of her accident in getting pregnant with me; I know so, even though I also know she loved me. She warned me never to do the same, to miss out on life while you can."

Marco shook his head as if to shake off her words, adamant in trying to get her to see things through his eyes, if nothing but a glimpse. His words were louder and stronger than before, hoping to persuade with the passion behind his voice. A touch of anger crept in, his fingers digging slightly into the couch cushions as he spoke.

"This is your life, and you're not missing out on anything except maybe the biggest thing - no, biggest adventure of living - by not even considering it. A baby is just a part of what you would share with me. It's a life we would bring into this world, a family we'd make of our own selves! That's what life is about, family and experiences, and growing together. This isn't a chore or some vampire baby come to suck out our life force. It's the ultimate connection, no, _expression _of our love!" He smiled gently, calming his voice to try and take away her edge. "It's what the big picture is all about."

Her eyes darted into his own, taking him aback and smacking the smile from his lips.

"You aren't seeing the bigger picture. You never do!"

"A baby doesn't put an end to life, Jackie, it enhances it! This would be the family that we get to create together. It won't be like how you grew up."

"I like my life as it is: not complicated!"

"Jackie, do you keep forgetting that I'm here for you, and with you? It would be part of our biggest journey yet, not as a side note we had to take care of while we tried to have fun on our own at the same time."

"You know, Marco, all you ever see is the silver lining; and while that's one thing I admire about you, it also makes you blind to the unexpected things you don't want to see. There's a thunderstorm and rain behind that light, and a dark side of that cloud. You just don't ever see it." She trailed off, almost a whisper, "You'll never see it."

Marco patted the couch, moving over for her though there was ample enough room left from where she had gotten up. He felt he had weathered the worst of it, and perhaps now he had a better chance of working his words through to her heart.

"Come on, sit down."

For a long moment, Jackie was silent. She blinked her eyes slowly and then looked back towards Marco's hand patting the couch. The way his glossy eyes looked up at her brought on instant pain. He was like a puppy that she knew she couldn't keep, even if she wanted to. It was happy and expecting some good thing to befall it, not at all seeing the obvious, tail wagging with wishes.

"I-" her lip quivered a little, then she looked down, placing her hand on the handle of the fridge as if for some added stability. "I'm sorry for what I said about your mom. I know what you want, but I can't be the one to give it to you. I'm the selfish one for prolonging all of this. I just wanted to keep it like this forever because… because I just didn't want to let you go."

Marco swallowed hard, instantly a wave of anxiety washing over him. He could see another wave coming, but he couldn't escape it, couldn't retreat. It was too late. A shiver of dread ran down his back and swirled around to tighten his chest.

"Jackie… wait, please, it doesn't have to be this way. It can still work between us."

"No, it can't, Marco." The pain in her heart reflected back through her words, yet she spoke them solidly just the same, unwavering. "…And you know it."

"It doesn't have to be," he tried again, but knew it was in vain.

He looked back towards the television. The show had flashed forward in time to showing the happy couple together, but panned out across a long dinner table, which now held two toddlers and a young baby in a highchair, the credits beginning to roll, the sappy music turning his stomach sour.

Jackie walked over to Marco and sat beside him on the couch. She was close enough that the tips of her blond hair swept across his cheek when she did so.

"I'm not that woman, Marco. I want freedom, not a family."

"T-tell me this isn't over."

"It can't work. You said yourself, this is _my_ life. I want to keep it."

He didn't want his voice to crumble but the more he spoke, the harder it was, parts of his voice changing pitch as it cracked apart.

"But I want to keep you, Jackie. I wanna make this work."

She set her hand onto the back of his, then waited until he looked at her before continuing, "We can't, Marco. It's two very different wants."

"But… don't you… want me?"

She smiled, perhaps to allow her cheeks to help stop her own eyes from glistening over. "Yeah, I do, but not the little version of you… and it would be wrong for me to keep you wanting something you'll never have with me."

"A-are you sure you can't reconsider-" but he stopped, sorrow building in him, trembling internally regardless of the desire to try and put the pieces back together before they truly fell apart. Deep within he felt like this outcome would probably have always happened, but just didn't expect it so soon, and certainly didn't want it. It was steel cold and liquid hot, making him sweat, his heart to burn to ash and shatter like ice in the same moment.

She grabbed hold of his face in her hands. Whatever her emotions were, she was able to mask them far easier than Marco, or had determined the logical resolution and was prepared to face it a lot sooner than he was.

"I am sure. I've never doubted it, just the same as you've never let it go."

He took her hands and guided them down to his knees, still clinging to them but unable to say anything. His thumbs caressed over the backs of them to feel her warmth, as his memory raced to record every moment of the sensation, knowing it would be the last. He could feel the heat of her proximity, and her breath across his ear. Nevertheless, where Jackie was next to him, he could only sense a stone wall, no way for him to break it down.

The worst part of Jackie's words was in knowing that they were right, and always had been. The unwelcomed thoughts that roamed about in the further recesses of his mind finally came out to play between his ears. They reminded him that he never had a chance, had only been dreaming, and held out on the hope that Jackie might change her mind.

"Listen," she said, "you can't _make_ it work. You can't force yourself to not want what you want, and you can't force me to either, or we'll both end up miserable. You do see that, right? So, I figure… now's a good time to give you an out."

She removed the small golden ring from her hand, placing it into his and closing his fingers around it.

"Stay amazing, ok?"

Jackie kissed his cheek and left the house, leaving him behind while the next movie began on the channel they had been watching together. He was surprised when he shook his head, coming to out of what he felt was some horrible nightmare that he knew was actually still happening, and experiencing a lapse in time. Evening had fallen. How long he had sat there he couldn't be sure. It felt momentary, but it was at least an hour, frozen in place and muted by the shock to his system.

Over the next several months he had moved out into a small nameless apartment complex. The days all bled into each other, so much so they hardly had dates or names. All he could notice was day or night, and even they began to merge as he slept at odd hours and moped about the apartment when he got off work. His love of video games left his fingers, and all he found himself doing was staring at the computer screen watching endless streams of videos he didn't really care about, feeling the emotions inside himself either drain away or completely overflow. At some points he couldn't help but be overcome and find himself swaddled in his bedsheets, his pillowcase wet by the stains of his tears; and at other times he could feel nothing at all, like a robot programmed to do human behaviors but experiencing none of the associated feelings. He went through the motions like a repeating, useless algorithm, both on the job and at home. From his computer to the fridge, to the bathroom, and back to bed, it was all a blank stream of consciousness swallowing him up, leaving him wondering why he was even around, and what purpose did his life ever serve to begin with.

Once in a while he would pick up his phone and text: _I'm sorry. We can make it work._ Only for his thumb to click the backspace button again and again. He sent no texts, though he had written several. He had received no texts from Jackie, though his heart skipped a beat whenever he heard the text message chime.

It beat slower once more when he saw the notifications weren't sent by her phone, and he collapsed again back into his bedsheets.

During one of his lowest moments, eyes rimmed in red and slightly puffy from being rubbed one too many times with the sleeves of his shirt, a notification popped up in the lower corner of his computer screen. It was about a birthday party that was going to be happening in town that his friend Ferguson was throwing that night. Alfonso tagged him for it, asking if he'd be coming and it would be great to see him there, since nobody had seen him in so long since he moved.

He found his mouse cursor hovering over the group photos. He couldn't help himself. He knew he should stop, close the web site, and go back to bed, or maybe make an extra large plate of sadness nachos - as he'd started to term them - but the cursor betrayed him. His finger clicked on Jackie's link.

Jackie's page sprang open, the bright color of it slapping him in the eye sockets from his normally night-shaded black backgrounds and dark apartment. There she was, in a new photo he hadn't seen before, with her arms slightly wrapped around a burly looking guy named Armstrong, with hair as blond as her own. They looked completely taken with each other, if his eyes didn't read too much into it.

He moved his mouse up to search her relationship status. It did not say _Single_, as he jealously had hoped it would. Instead, it read _In A Relationship._

He shot his chair back away from the desk in a single heated flurry, standing and allowing his chair to slam backwards to the floor. He went into the bathroom and grabbed hold of the sink, head down as if to vomit.

It would have been welcomed had he done so. Instead, he caught himself whimpering as he tried to stop the new influx of tears he didn't think he had any more to spend. In a rage against his own body he grabbed his toothbrush cup and slammed it into the basin. The glass cup didn't make a smooth trajectory but hit instead against the faucet, immediately breaking and sending shards into his hand as a result.

In that instant he remained in a standstill, panting slowly. He kicked himself for acting so foolish.

The warm, small streams of blood began to flow over his skin and down into the sink. He watched the dripping, entranced for a moment, letting the blood flow out of him and feeling better for it, almost enjoying how he'd stupidly cut himself and the peacefulness this physical pain brought. It was the kind of pain he preferred to what was going on within his mind.

The droplets cascaded over the broken bits of glass, and before he knew it, he was bleeding quite heavily.

After Jackie, he hadn't bothered to unpack much besides the basics. He remembered this as he opened his medicine cabinet to find it unremarkably bare of anything to help fix his new condition. He tried to dab the wounds with toilet paper and attempt to stem the tide, but it was like trying to stop his own tears when they came.

"Well at least my outsides match my insides," he groaned to himself.

Sighing heavily, he did what he could to stop the bleeding with a napkin from the kitchen, flushing out the wound with tap water. He had no disinfectant and decided that he should probably make a run to the nearest store. The gashes were bad enough to warrant it, though not a trip to the emergency room for stitches.

He looked at the clock, having no concept of the time. Most stores would be closed. It was well past sundown.

The closest pharmacy was next to Echo Creek Lodge, and open late.

He drove carefully with one hand while his other was kept wrapped in a towel. The journey wasn't far, luckily, and there were hardly any people around at that hour. It was so dark out that some of the stars were starting to peek out from their evening blankets and began to shine, and the moon seemed larger than normal. It was full and bright, as if sent to light his way.

He got out of his car and headed into the building. He wasted no time to buy the necessary bandages and was exiting the sliding doors within just minutes of walking in, not speaking a word. But mid-way through the barren lot a sound caught his attention, slowing his steps. It was a small sound, stifled and meek. It came in puffs between silenced breaks.

Along the far side of the store, in the shadow of the brick façade, there was a girl about his age sitting alone on the curb. Once his eyes focused, he could clearly see that she was trying to hide the fact that she was crying. He was highly attuned to the slight sniffling breaths, probably due to the fact that he had become so acquainted with them himself.

In that moment he was struck by her vulnerability, hoping that she wasn't hurt. He ignored his own injury, forgetting why he'd even journeyed out, feet compelled to turn towards her direction. He found himself walking to the place where she was sitting, hugging her knees, long blond hair covering over her legs and sticking to them due to the tears. He felt an immediate attraction for her that surged up a hint of life still left within his being. It took him quite by surprise.

Every cell in his body was urging him to go nearer. He felt no fear reaching out his undamaged hand to her.

"Uh, are you ok, miss?"

Her large blue eyes turned to look into his own. The connection they made to his…

…but he couldn't recall it. He tried to pull the memories from the dusty corners of his brain but came up empty. Only, there was a feeling there, something comforting, a longing for it to return, to never let it go.

Marco heard a noise from where the van was parked behind him on the cement bench. It pulled him mercifully out of the memories. The fountain was calmly still spewing its water jets, and when he looked around, he didn't see anyone nearby.

His hand closed around the pentagram ring. With an exhale, he swept his hair back and thrust both hands into his hoodie's front pocket.

Gradually, he stood like an old man that had finished feeding ducks for the day, then walked towards the van. He gave it a casual glance through the windows as he strode past, fully expecting he might see a dog pop up to bark in his face. Some pet might've made the noise he'd heard; but, he saw nothing through the dark windows inside.

He continued on his way to his own car, which was parked over by the pharmacy's parking lot next door. He took a deep breath. "You've got this Marco," he said to himself, and pulled away, driving off towards home.

Nearly huddled atop each other in the back of the navy blue van, a man and a woman were sitting closely, concealed not by tinted windows but a field of dim lights that wrapped around the entire interior roof-work of the vehicle that magically kept them hidden in plain sight. From the inside, they had almost a full unencumbered three-sixty view of the outside completely clear around themselves, like a van made of complete glass. A network of control panels, monitors, and sound systems were stuffed into every free nook and cranny, looking like a very cramped mess in a very see-through room where the two were jammed together.

Behind the two was a short lab table and a series of test tubes poking out of marked and unmarked slots, dozens aligned in rows. Below that, the makings of strange petri dishes in various stages of testing were set out. Both of the duo wore white buttoned-up lab coats with blue collars reaching almost to their ears. An insignia was embroidered onto their breast pockets which held other strange devices.

As Marco had peeked into the van, both of the people within held still on instinct, though they needn't have done so. Marco could see nothing inside, but it was awkward how he was just inches from the face of the woman looking right back at him. She could see him clearly from his nose down to his shoes. She flushed slightly, and held eye contact until Marco turned away.

"So, do you think the proposal will go well?" the man next to her asked.

The question hung in the air before she responded, as if having missed his words and only now her ears were trying to catch up.

"The proposal? Oh, well, I don't see why not," she whispered, adjusting the glasses on her face.

"You took a bit to answer me there. Did you get lost?"

"No, not at all," she recovered herself, setting her dark eyelids back down into a more serious, professional expression as she turned his way, tucking an errant strand of light brown hair back behind her ear. "I was merely allowing him to get some distance before speaking."

"You know he can't see or hear us in here. I think you got a bit distracted."

She balked at the suggestion. "Certainly not, unless you mean getting distracted by study. He's never gotten that close before." Her voice sounded intrigued.

Her partner took the information from her words but ignored the added tenor. "Yes, we must make a note to change the shroud effect on the vehicle for next time, so he doesn't get suspicious."

She used a stylus to pen a scratchy note on her touch pad. "We can't do that now if we're going to follow. It'll have to wait until we get back to base."

"At least there will be some excitement today," the man said as he spun around on the chair which hovered into the driver's seat position. "Maybe if we're lucky we can grab some popcorn for the show."

His voice intended irony but she felt it was at least a bit more exciting than their typical observation days. Now and then there was some drama as they watched and listened to obscure conversations; but for the most part, the lives of the people they were ordered to keep tabs on were really rather dull, surprisingly.

"Make mine extra buttered," she replied flatly.

After several minutes, the blue van likewise backed up and pulled away from the Echo Creek Lodge, trailing roughly a block behind Marco.

Marco's encounter with the strange girl at the pharmacy allowed him to feel like his life in general wasn't worthless, as he was able to focus on helping someone else when he couldn't do so for himself. However, just as life had started to become infused in his spirit again she had vanished completely, after just a few short days. She had helped to nurse his injured hand, and he'd paid for a room at the Lodge for her stay in so that she could have a place; but, a lot of the memories were left in a haze, like fragments being displayed on an old school projector screen where the film reel kept skipping scenes. Waking up one morning in the hotel room bed, she was gone, and he was alone again.

He had waited in the room hours for her return, until it was time to check out of the hotel. Even afterwards he paced around the lobby, checking and rechecking down corridors just in case she headed back. It was energy spent in vain. It was drizzling outside as he resigned to the fact that she wasn't coming back to say goodbye.

He finally exited and headed home.

As he walked slowly, without a care for getting wet, the dribbles of rain slicked down his forehead and seemed to weigh just enough to cause him to keep his eyes on his feet. He was more than ready to draw the curtains closed at his place, to slink back into the warmth of his own blankets and just forget about women existing for a good long time.

The cuts on his hand had begun to heal but the rain soaked into the bandage, so he stopped to remove it and toss it into a bin he was passing on the sidewalk.

"Yo."

The voice was so close it made Marco whip his head up with a startle.

"Geeze, Marco, relax," the familiar woman opposite him chuckled loosely.

"Janna?" he said, half in disbelief and half trying to act not surprised. It came out of his mouth like a horrible, high-pitched fumble.

"Yeah," she said, then looked at Marco's hand. "You alright there?"

"Oh, uh, yeah," he said, his voice returned to normal. "It was just… an accident."

She stepped closer, the rain pattering on the lid of the bin. "Looks like that could make a really cool scar. Where've you been? Missed you at Ferguson's party."

"Yeah, I uh, I sorta missed it."

He felt bad about not attending, and even worse admitting it. He couldn't meet eyes with her and became acutely aware that the rain had started to fall harder.

"It wasn't that great," Janna shrugged. "Not like you missed anything but the usual drama."

"Was Jackie there?" He kicked himself, wishing he could pull back the words that just flew out of his mouth.

"Ehh, well you know Jackie. Late to the party and was early to leave, always with a bunch of people around her. Guys following the popular girl, you know?" The look on Marco's face had changed as she spoke, and she picked up on it quickly. "Hey, I'm sorry about what happened with her, and all that. What _did _happen, anyway?"

"It's kind of a long story," he responded, head back down and beginning to walk away.

"Look, I shouldn't have said-"

"Don't worry about it. Jackie and I are over. I don't care."

Janna wiped the rain from her brow and caught up to him. They both walked side by side down the sidewalk, saying nothing, getting pelted by the rain overhead and seemingly oblivious to it. They both kept their hands in their pockets, not looking at each other.

After several long minutes and rumbles of thunder, Janna spoke up.

"If it makes it any better, I'm in the same boat as you. I get it."

"Get what?"

"I just got out of a relationship myself. I know it sucks."

Marco couldn't find any words worth the effort to reply so he kept up his pace, but not trying to outmatch her own. They were still a couple blocks away from his apartment.

Janna continued after a time.

"Thing is, I'm not really your typical girlfriend material, so every time I'm with someone it always ends up just shallow and empty. I can't really connect with anyone on a deeper level like I'd like when they aren't into the same stuff I am."

Her words hung in the air a bit before Marco shrugged, softly replying, "Jackie didn't want a deeper connection either. I thought maybe we'd get there with time but," he shrugged.

"I always thought you two were pretty close."

"She wasn't into the same stuff I was either."

Janna slowed to a stop, Marco noticing from the corner of his eye and looking back her way. He thought perhaps he'd been a little too sarcastic and sought to correct himself, but the rain had started to become more serious.

"I can explain it better if you want to get out of this rain. You wanna come back to my place, have a coffee?"

Janna smiled her usual smirk.

"Sounds good to me."

When they reached his apartment he nonchalantly let her in, only the briefest feeling of shame hitting him over the condition of his apartment. Clothes were carelessly left where they fell, hung over chairs or strewn about the floor. There were dishes piled up in the sink completely unwashed for well over a week. The apartment itself was dark, not just due to the overcast weather outside but the drapes being mostly all closed, keeping everything dark like a depressive hovel.

He didn't bother to apologise.

"I like what you've done with the place," Janna quipped.

Marco set about to get coffee percolating in his pot, then joined Janna at the kitchen table. She was wearing a black hoodie which was soaked from the rain. He offered to dry it in his dryer in the meantime.

With no feeling of embarrassment, Janna removed her tweedy olive hat and slipped the fabric up and over her head, then handed them both to him. She wore a grey-blue short sleeve shirt underneath that showed off her arms, which were just a bit damp, causing her tanned skin to glisten even with the lack of much light. She tossed her short black hair from side to side for a moment, then leaned back in the chair, one arm draped over the back.

It might've looked seductive to Marco, had he been anywhere near the mood.

"So tell me, what were you into that Jackie was not?"

The coffee pot started to make gurgling sounds as Marco sat opposite of her, not missing a beat. He just let the words flow out as they may, not checking them first in his usual double-thinking fashion.

"I wanted to get more serious, get married, and have a baby."

Janna's eyes, which normally were always set at half-closed in a snarky expression, widened fully at his bold statement. She was genuinely surprised, but it didn't last on her long before her laid-back demeanor returned.

"That's Jackie for you. Too busy living life to actually live life, am I right?"

When Marco didn't respond, she continued, leaning her elbows on the table. "I've never really thought much about having a baby. Maybe that's because I've been in and out of so many relationships that never got anywhere near to that conversation level. Although, now that you mention it, I can kinda see the value in bringing a new life into the world that's a total blank slate you can mold your own way."

She glanced up at him with a smile drawn from ear to ear, and he couldn't tell whether she was teasing or being serious, but decided to make a joke.

"Uhm, Janna?"

"Yeah?"

"You're totally thinking a baby is like a little clone of yourself aren't you… "

"You mean like I could amass my own self-created minion spawn? Only totally."

A light chuckle exited his mouth, a sound that the somber interior of his apartment had never yet heard. It was almost out of place, but before the two got too caught up the coffee was ready to be poured.

Marco got up to grab a couple cups from the cabinets and poured them each a round.

"Sorry, I don't have any cream in the fridge that I'd trust, but I got sugar."

"That's fine. I like mine black."

"Like my soul," Marco jeered cynically.

Janna laughed as she cupped a hand around the warmth and took a deep swig. "You see, Marco? You get my brand of humor. Why can't I have these types of conversations with other people like I do with you?"

"Well, I guess because this strange, twisted kind of friendship thing we've had is what makes it easier to communicate. We understand each other."

Janna mulled that over for a moment as the coffee sloshed over her tongue. "Yeah, too bad other guys aren't like you."

He had forgotten the name of Janna's most recent boyfriend. To cover for his lack of remembrance, he approached his question a different way.

"So what happened with _your _relationship?"

"Not much, and that was the problem. I still need to figure out what I'm gonna do next."

He added sugar to his own cup. "What do you mean?"

"When I mentioned about breaking up, that was kinda what occurred at Ferguson's party."

"Oh… that fresh huh?"

"Uhhh, yeah," she huffed. "Now I need to find another place. There were a couple apartments in these complexes up for rent I was heading to to check out. I didn't know you'd moved to this one."

He stirred his drink, watching as the sugar melted away and caused it to become less black and bitter. "Why not just stay here with me?"

Her laugh came almost out of her nose as she set her cup down, snorting her drink. She'd expected to look up at Marco and find him similarly busting out.

Instead, he was just sitting there, a faint smirk on his lips and a tint of embarrassment showing on his cheeks. "Why not? I have the room, if you don't mind the mess. I mean, being alone is great and all but I wouldn't mind company."

She wiped beneath her nose. "Riiiiight. It's not like we're dating or anything foolish like that."

"Are you kidding?!" This time he did bust out in a barked laugh. "It absolutely wouldn't be."

"I know, right? Silly to even think of it. Relationships suck, man."

"Yeah, I know that." He tilted his head with a shrug. "We'd just be roommates that appreciate each other's… uhm, special brand of quirkiness."

She paused, thinking it over, logic coercing her to consider taking the easy way out. She hadn't been looking forward to going through the apartment hunting process and she wasn't against taking hold of a good, crazy impulse. "So, we're doing this?"

"Makes sense to split the rent when nothing's going on between us to ruin it, right?"

"Sounds pretty win-win to me."

"Just two friends sharing an apartment."

Within mere days Janna had brought over the few boxes of belongings that contained her entire life, in one of the easiest moves Marco had ever seen, just a single car trip. Her boxes were mostly full of old musty books and gargoyle statues, with some incense sticks thrown in for good measure with Tarot cards.

Time passed and their cohabitation went off without a hitch. There were no eggshells Marco had to walk over and he could be himself just as if he was with one of the guys. Without the requirements of a romantic relationship, the two of them were at ease to be themselves, no pressure, no quarrels.

Janna was quick to assemble the broken pieces of Marco's confidence. Her outlook on life was dark and sarcastic, but ultimately a very positive one, reaffirming that she could give the world the middle finger, and that depression shouldn't win, because that was somehow allowing the world to win. Janna seemed like she could take on the planet, and wanted to teach Marco to do the same.

Marco's apartment had changed too as time went on. His clothes were picked up and hung in the closet and dishes actually found their way into the dishwasher. The fridge was full of food and snacks, and he opened the drapes rather than kept them closed, at least until Janna closed them on him, preferring the darkness.

They did much together, from attending the parties of friends to doing basic grocery shopping for the apartment. Marco got his own furniture and food and Janna likewise bought for herself. And yet, despite their often polar opposites in taste, they never smoldered into arguments. And when Janna wanted to attend a witch's coven meeting in the middle of the night he didn't bat an eye, as well as he could attend martial arts sparring matches without having to explain his bruises or have Janna worry over them. In fact, she often encouraged him with a hearty "Niiiiice" whenever he removed his shirt and had a new black and blue mark emblazoned on his back.

It was nearly a full year into their roommate living situation when they took a drive out to a comic convention. Marco had a cape around his shoulders while Janna was in the full get-up of gothic vampire princess Sanguinica, from an anime she had taken a new liking to. Decked out in black and red leather with spiked buckles running the full length of her knee-high boots, matching armbands up to the elbows, she was about as dangerous to get close to as a cactus. A small pointed dagger was cinched at her side, the old fashioned victorian dress cut off and left jagged just above her knees. Replacing her typical olive hat was a red bowler-style one, adorned with a single black rose.

"You're not even really dressed as any superhero in particular," said Janna. "Why didn't you pick one of your wrestling superheros at least? That De Fuego guy is pretty cool."

"Pretty cool?" he questioned scoldingly with a raised brow. He emphasized his next words with a fist in the air. "El Puño De Fuego - The Fist of Fire!... is _pretty cool_."

She laughed, "I'll give _you _a fist of fire!" and punched his shoulder.

"Hey-Ouch!" he said playfully. "I mean I figured as long as I have a cape on I can pass as just about any superhero. It's hard to pick just one I like best, but since all superheroes have capes, I should fit right in regardless."

She snickered as she adjusted the overly elaborate silver choker around her throat with teardrop red gemstones dangling down like droplets of blood. "Marco, Marco, Marco."

He looked up into the rearview mirror, finding it strange that the only vehicle behind them for most of the trip was the same van. He figured they must also be heading to the con, so he diverted his attention elsewhere, checking the GPS now and again for the route.

"And now let's go ahead and take a slight blast from the past with Justin Towers from Love Sentence!" The annoying radio jockeys broke into the cabin space over the radio. "This song was number one on the billboards for three months in a row. Can you guess which one it was? Well, we're playing it now!"

The old song from both Marco and Janna's school days blared through the speakers.

_Ooh-ooh-ooh-ooh-ooh-ooh-ooh..._

"Oh man, I loved this song!" Marco turned the dial a couple clicks louder. "You remember this, right?"

"I was more into the metal scene than boy bands at the time," Janna chided in a lighthearted way. She rolled her eyes but maintained her smile as she saw Marco begin to mouth the words while tapping the steering wheel. Her comment wasn't about to prevent him from rocking.

_It was no secret_

_The way that we feel_

_A love that's so pure_

_A love that's so real_

As Marco jammed to the song, Janna's phone lit up with an incoming text. Her thumbs spent the next several minutes jumping over the screen making replies to recurring pings.

Marco continued to jive to the music but watched Janna from the corner of his eye.

_You showed me your world_

_And it felt like a sign_

_But you acted too slow_

_And you ran out of ti-i-ime_

Janna became fully absorbed in the message windows that blipped up on the panel until finally she set the phone down in her tulle-frilled lap.

"Everything OK?" he asked, the rhythm of the song ebbing slowly out from his body as he returned to normal driving, albeit concern in his voice.

"Yes. It's just Blake. He says he's already there and in the Artist Alley. Scored some real nice swag of Sanguinica for me."

_And now we'll be...just friends_

_We will be...just friends_

_And now we'll be….just friends_

_Be just friiiiiends_

Marco turned his eyes back on the road, a very minute stitch of something pricking his emotions and unsettled his groove.

_I didn't mean to hurt you_

_You didn't have a clue_

_So you went out and got busy_

_And found somebody new, new, new_

_And now we'll be…_

They made it to the convention center, grabbed a program, some welcome gift bags, and slipped on their name badge lanyards. The center's lobby was massive and included a gigantic comic book with an open spread, which served as the doorway directly into the con itself. They literally had to step through the windowed panels of the enormous pages to enter.

"I guess we'll find Blake first?" Marco asked.

Janna was already following the guide map towards the Artist Alley. "Come on, Marco!"

The pair made their way around innumerable cosplayers and walked down a flight of stairs before getting to the main hallway dividing the huge Artist Alley rooms. For added flavor, the hallways were lit in blacklights with glowing posters hung on the walls. Even the pattern of the carpet beneath their feet had glow to it.

Looking at his feet and chuckling, Marco saw that the only article of his own clothing and Janna's that took on the glowey nature were his white socks.

As they approached a signage board detailing the vendors, and which room they were placed in, Janna paused.

"I'm not sure which room."

She went for a closer look to review the boards and had to squeeze around a few people having a heated discussion, each dressed in support of their characters. Marco followed suit, lifting his arms so as to try not to knock into the bulky costumes.

"Look dude, we have probably the best comic series to date out there," one of the costumed turtles in a red bandanna said to the skin-fitting green and silver clad man beside him.

"I have to argue with you there. Have you seen the new deluxe edition series!?"

"How can you even begin to compare?! The Ranger comic panels are so plain and static compared to the Turtles. So much more flavor and grit to their design layout alone!"

"At least our live action TV show was a fulfilling coming of age series, not some crazy weird mutant fest including a girl turtle with shell boobs!"

"Look, we don't talk about that show-"

Marco gritted his teeth and backed away as much as he could, not wanting any piece of that nerdly action. Janna's hand came up from behind him and pulled his cape, nearly making him fall backwards with an audible yipe.

"This way!"

The argument of geekery continued on as they left the two groups behind. He was more than relieved to be out of there, even if it meant that now he almost tripped into Blake.

Blake had short hair that partially covered both of his eyes. Normally a brown color, it instead was dyed a solid, shiny black. He was dressed in something similar to Janna's outfit, obviously vampirish, with a pair of grey gargoyle wings on his back. Same as in high school, he still had that red mole on his nose. Marco would've normally found the costume he wore to be awesome, but seeing it on Blake somehow took the cool factor down a notch or five.

Now a trio, they roamed about the convention, stopping in to listen at some lectures, see upcoming film and game trailers, and bought souvenirs from their favorite booths. Marco was happy enough to let Janna lead the way. It all was a good time, though he couldn't shake the feeling of being a little bit of a tag-along, which he got a sense of mid-way through the day as Blake constantly seemed to cut him off while walking or keep next to Janna's side an abnormal amount of the time, as if positioning himself between him and Janna intentionally. He thought he was reading too much into it and wanted to let it slide, but he was becoming more annoyed with Blake than not as the day wore on. To add to his increasing paranoia, he kept seeing a couple of the same cosplayers wherever they would go. They were dressed like two lab coat-wearing professors with full black face masks, and even he didn't know what franchise they belonged to.

He was thrilled when they finally sat down to eat at the cafe. The pair of creepy black-faced long-coats were nowhere around. The delicious scent of multiple types of food mingled in the air and made his stomach groan.

Blake and Janna had gotten served their food options first and picked out a place to sit while Marco was still waiting on his pizza slices to be baked. When he finally was able to take a seat at the table he thought he had interrupted something. Janna looked a bit put-out while Blake glanced his way and stopped speaking mid-sentence. He kicked out a chair for Marco to sit almost begrudgingly.

"Have a seat," he said.

Marco set down his tray across from them and straddled the chair. "Did I miss something?"

"We were just talking about the final episode of Sanguinica and how the devs basically ruined the show by moving plot points too conveniently and fast."

"The ending was better than a lot of other series got," Janna snorted.

Blake pressed harder.

"It was all just FANSERVICE. They literally just ended the show how the majority of people wanted to see it and ignored all of the backstories and lore they were building up to until this time."

"They had a time crunch and did what they could. It wasn't bad."

"But it wasn't good. It could've been so much more."

Janna shifted the conversation over to Marco as if she didn't want to field the ball.

"What did you think, Marco?"

On the spot, Marco's pupils shrank as he sought out an answer. He'd binge-watched the entire series alongside Janna but didn't find the ending to be great nor poor.

"I uhm… uh… I thought it was pretty good. Sanguinica and her human boyfriend got together in the end. Uhm, a happy ending all around, well, after she stabbed the King of the Nosferatu blood den and saved all of the enslaved humans at the cost of her own immortality." He bit his lip nervously and looked at both of their faces, hoping his show knowledge would pull him out of explaining further. "I was cool with it. Wrapped up the series really nicely instead of just cutting it off without having an ending."

Not surprisingly Blake's eye roll was quite visible, but Janna smiled, making him feel better.

After they had finished eating, the plan was to stop over at the dance hall. There was going to be a rave but they were an hour too early. The show assistants were busy dashing around, setting up the lights and stage effects.

"Well, I guess we could go back into the Artist Alley until then," said Marco. "I want to go back and pick up that 'Making of El Puño De Fuego' book and get it signed while the creators are still there."

"That sounds great," Blake suggested. When Janna gave a look of possible opposition, he prevented her from speaking by breaking into the beginning of her words. "Janna and I wanted to go to that one dragon booth for uhm, those dragon shoulder pet things."

Marco furrowed his brow a bit and looked to Janna.

"It's okay, Marco. Go grab the book and we'll meet you back here."

Janna sounded like her customary self but he got a vibe that Blake was being overly pushy, wanting to get rid of him for a while, and he didn't like it. However, he knew Janna could well handle herself and wasn't about to butt in on anything she wanted. Still though, he wasn't totally convinced as he rethought the matter while strolling down the corridors towards the Alley.

The signage line for the book he wanted was ridiculously long. What he thought would be done within twenty minutes turned out to take longer than an hour. The first half of it moved along pretty fast but then several of the harder-core fans would not stop trying to speak more than their fair share to the authors, trying to get just a little sketch doodled quickly into their book covers despite the posted rules. The agents of the signing event tried to move along the hold ups with smiles growing strained, forcing themselves to stay pleasant while dealing with difficult super fans.

"Don't worry," Marco said as he finally got to the first creator at the long table. "Just a signature is fine."

"No 'I-give-this-book-to-my-biggest-and-most-adoring-fan-with-all-my-love?'" the creator jested. "Thanks, my hand's been killing me." He made a quick sketch of a fiery fist in what looked like two swipes of his pen in gratitude.

Marco's pupils expanded to fill up the whites of his eyes. They glinted in the multitude of ceiling track lights like a kitten drawn in one of the comics, just after it got saved out of a burning tree by some superhero. He had to hold back a girlish squeal as he was dutifully handed the book.

Once done, he checked his phone for the time and completely spaced on sending Janna a quick text that he was on his way.

The rave was in full swing. He'd hustled to the place where he was last with Janna but the two were undoubtedly inside the dance hall already. Inside, a fog machine had blanketed the floor with smoke that swirled with a colorful mist. The beams of laser light slashed down through them in random intervals. He called out a few times but the music was far too loud, the ballroom overly crowded with dancing guests with their intricate costumes.

Several people were swinging around glow sticks like nunchaku in bewildering looping displays, glowing hoop necklaces and wristlets jangling around on every person there. The pounding of the rhythm vibrated up from the floor and he was quickly swallowed up in a tangled mass of gyrating limbs.

"Janna!" he called again, though he could barely hear his own voice.

As soon as he found a wall to take refuge against he drove his hand into his pocket and pulled out his phone, sending her a text. He hoped her phone was set to vibrate and that she might feel it.

He stared at the screen as the moments passed but there came no reply.

A giant robot costumed patron was amassing a small crowd of dancers around him, making a small opening around where Marco was standing. As he watched, the person went from standing robot to transforming into a car on four literal wheels, driving through the clouded floor with headlamps lighting the way. The ravers jumped and cheered, letting him glide past their stomping feet, and as the crowd parted he could see Janna's silhouette behind fog at the opposite side of the room.

"Janna!" he shouted, then quickly tried to bridge the gap between them while weaving through the partiers. "Sorry, excuse me, just need to get through!" he apologised as he shoved his way between them.

Even though he could barely hear through the thudding music, he could see the violent arm gestures of Blake as he was swinging them around as he spoke-screamed. Janna had her arms crossed. Her face seemed almost apathetic to Blake's gesticulations.

Before Marco could open his mouth, Blake saw him coming. He flicked his hair so that at least one of his eyes was fully looking into Marco's face. Somehow he appeared meaner than usual with false vampire fangs.

"I thought you were just roommates!" he shouted.

"What!?" Marco shouted back, wanting him to clarify and unsure he's just been asked the question he had. "Can we go somewhere else to talk!?"

Blake stepped abruptly closer, nearly stomping on Marco's toes he got so close. "I thought you and Janna were just roommates! That is what I was told before! Did that change, Marco?!"

While Blake shouted, Marco wasn't sure if it was due to anger or the voice-drowning noise of the room, but a wave of anxiety struck him in the gut.

"We _are _just roommates!"

Blake's lips closed into a tight slit. He narrowed his eyes in the same fashion as he darted his head towards Janna like an abraded serpent. He took a step back from Marco and got into Janna's personal space. Even though his voice had dropped to a whispering level, Marco could still hear it like a holler.

"Then what's the problem, Janna!? It's him or me! You can't stay on the fence forever!"

Marco was locked into place, his knees frozen, the bass bouncing off the walls seeming to come directly from his chest rather than loudspeakers. "Uhm, what's going on?"

Blake didn't hear him or simply didn't care, and when he got no response out of Janna he pushed hard against Marco's shoulder with his own, muscling past him to leave in as forceful a show of acidic resentment as possible.

"Janna?!" Marco questioned, but she just shook her head and grabbed his hand to lead him out of the dance hall.

Leaving the massive neon rainbow-filled room, his ears struggled to return to normal. As the music grew more faint the more space they placed between them and the hall, the comfort of the silence only lasted so long before it became almost just as irksome.

They left the building and went into fresh air, a respite from the varied smells of costume sweat and humid air from multiple bodies.

He waited for Janna to say something first.

"That was uncomfortable," she said in a fun-loving way, though he could feel the awkwardness in her typically confident voice.

"What was that all about?"

They both took a seat on a bench, facing out towards the traffic coming and going from the convention.

"You know Blake's been a long-time friend of mine."

He replied quickly. "Yeah, I know."

"Well lately he's wanted to be more than that."

"Did he try something?" Marco tried not to sound too defensive.

"He has a room in the hotel. He wanted me to join him."

Marco swallowed and paused, but when Janna didn't continue on he did his best to sound nonchalant as he questioned, "You didn't want to?"

There was a suppressed hush between them that felt long.

"It's fine by me if you wanted to, I mean," he went on, "I wouldn't stop you."

"Would you _want _to stop me?"

The question wasn't one he was ready for, and it caught him completely off guard when he thought he was in charge of where the topic was going.

"I don't think that's what matters here."

"But it does matter."

"No. No-no-no. Look, this is about you and Blake."

"Blake isn't here right now though, is he?" she snapped. "You are! Tell me what you'd feel if I texted you to say I decided to spend the night with Blake."

The subject had never come up before although he had thought about it once or twice. He'd been convinced in his own mind that he and Janna were only roommates and that each of them had their own lives separate from each other, to do whatever they pleased. But, she hadn't been with anyone but himself since she moved in, and he, the same. He never had to deal with any other rogue emotions, and that was agreeable to him.

"What are you trying to get me to say? No, I wouldn't like it, but you can do-"

"OK, stop. Now, let me ask you this. _Why _wouldn't you like it?"

He stood up from the bench, frustrated and pacing around, unable to get free from the conversation while she merely sat there holding her ground.

"I don't know! Because you're my friend and I look out for you."

"You of all people know I don't need looking out for."

"Yeah, I know, I know!" His face was flushing red with embarrassed anger. His hands clenched into fists and then stretched his fingers out, unsure what to do with the confused feelings racing around in his chest.

"I didn't want to be with Blake because I'd rather be with you."

He stopped mid-stride, inhaling sharply and looking her way. The inner tumultuousness he felt prevented him from responding clearly to such a brazen admittance. He wasn't sure what to do with the information as his brain sought to process it and failed to comply.

Janna laughed. "You should see the look on your face right now."

"Janna, neither one of us wanted a relationship. That's kinda the point. That's why we worked out so well."

"We worked out together because we were so comfortable with each other. We appreciated each other from day one. When Blake kept wanting to hold my hand or have a kiss, I just thought about you instead."

"I dunno what to say," he said, kicking at the cement to dislodge a stone from a crevice.

"I just wanted to tell you how I felt. You don't have to have the same feelings for me back."

"I… didn't say I didn't," he mumbled quietly.

"So? That's not a bad thing if you do."

He sighed, thinking briefly back to Jackie. "Relationships… "

"... sometimes just happen," she finished. "Even if you don't want them to."

"Do you _not _want it to?"

"I was about to ask the same of you."

Marco leaned his head back on his neck, deciding what to say. Instead he just groaned. "I don't know."

She slid closer to the edge of her seat. "I know how to find out."

"Uh… " his pulse jumped. "How?"

"It's really a simple thing, Marco."

His eyelids rose until they practically touched his eyebrows, but he didn't stop her. She grabbed hold of his fingers with a couple of her own and pulled herself up from the bench and into him. He felt the heat of her skin as it made contact, her chest bumping into his, her lips tentatively sliding against his own.

A moment passed as his lips gradually pressed against hers, his hand lightly squeezing her fingers in return. He tried to decide whether or not to pull away but the sensation broke through all uncertainty he had. Her chest was breathing along with his, heaving almost as one. Inevitably, he opened her mouth with his own, shutting his eyes and enjoying feeling every flick of her tongue as it sought out his. He gave in to a hidden feeling he didn't want to admit he had.

The kiss ended before he was ready, breaking off with a slight suctioned sound.

"I don't want to ever go back home to not have you there, Janna."

"Then… " she smirked, "I'll be there even more so now."

He exhaled the heavy slush of anxiety and allowed the edges of his lips to smile, to match the growing sense of happiness that quickly replaced his fears.

"Why is it so much easier for you to just blurt out _your _emotions?"

"Duh. I'm far more in tune with my aura and what the universe calls to me. Plus, I'm a woman and I can do that."

He gave her a quizzical look and laughed.

"Hurry up," the woman wearing the lab coat urged as she tapped on the small table inside the van with her stylus pen.

"Why? Afraid to miss him getting down on one knee? Sometimes I think he's onto us trailing him. I'm trying to keep our distance. Besides, he's just going home."

She was indeed eager to witness his proposal. They had been following Marco for two years. Although he wasn't the only one they pursued and were ordered to keep tabs on, he was the one whom she had taken the most liking to, following his day-to-day events like a soap opera.

The Echo Creek Lodge was long gone from view, Marco's car barely visible in the distance ahead of a slew of other vehicles.

"We don't know that. He could be going somewhere else and calling the Janna girl there to him." She traced a finger across her bottom lip, thinking, until her glasses slid down. "How do humans even wear these things?" she grumbled, pushing them back up again.

"You don't have to wear them while we're in here. Just take them off."

"Then I'll forget to get back into character when we need to. No, just better for me to deal with them."

"You're the one that chose that look."

"I felt it made me appear more… sophisticated. Better suited to who we might look like in the Earth realm if we lived here."

"It's not like we ever go out while wearing our full uniforms."

"We came close that one time at the convention."

"True, but when we do go out you just look like a typical human wearing glasses, not some scientist bent on discovering a way to expand gene pools and figure out the magical aether connection between the realms."

"Your logic annoys me."

Her companion finally cracked a smile from the side of his mouth. "You just like to complain, admit it."

The woman chortled and swung her legs around the small stool she was seated on, taking a look at the test tube racks.

"We got a sufficient amount for the week, but I'd sure like to get some from Mr. Diaz. Maybe that would shed some light on things."

"You might be getting your wish."

"What?" she leaned his way, looking at the dash pad that suddenly began to beep and type out a string of text. "Is that a tag order?"

"Looks like a tag and bag order."

Her voice was at once excited and shocked. "We're bringing him in?!"

"Looks like."

"When?"

"Soon as we get him isolated. They want him in today."

"Today?" she repeated, trying to hide some of the sorrow in the word.

"Problem?"

"Just bad timing. He's about to propose. I highly doubt we'll get him alone."

"You know the drill. As long as it takes, we wait."

Her thoughts ran wild, pulse picking up under her skin. She wasn't at all eager to have to wait out the night; but unlike her companion, it was more because she didn't want to be forced to contend with what she expected would be occurring between Marco and Janna.

She pulled at her high blue collar, it feeling almost like it might strangle her breath away. It was suddenly too hot for her in the claustrophobic van. She tried to speak just to prevent a pause, to curb her brain from encroaching imagery she didn't want.

"I bet he has strong DNA," she mused.

He muttered a disgruntled snort.

"A nice roundup of some choice humans like him just might help end the infertility issues we've been suffering… not that it would be logical. Just wishful thinking. This one I think is special in some way is all."

"That's ludacris. Just because he seems to have a connection to the magical aether doesn't make him the next greatest compatible bloodline to add into our own stock."

"Then why are we out here tracking and sampling?"

"I just do the job. I don't ask questions. They won't tell us anyway."

She looked mildly slighted, staring at the video feed of Marco as he pouted behind the wheel of his car, newly parking at the apartment complex. She couldn't help but be taken in by his boyish looks. He was roughly her same age.

Her thoughts wandered, thinking it quite a waste of potential, and secretly shoving down her own animalistic drives towards such a virile male. She typically denied such feelings within herself, passing them off as a result of being forced to study the fertility of the species day in and day out while hoping that her own would prove to still be viable, especially at a personal level. She was certainly willing, though her professionalism forbid her from indulging in such thoughts for too long. She didn't want her partner picking up on any of it.

"I do wonder how he suddenly triggered the network to hone in on him," the man queries almost to himself. "What exactly happened in this area of Earth Dimension? It had to be something. My guess is a portal opened. But he seems to act normal enough… not like humans that have seen some _real _magic. Most curious."

"The unusual magic activity began to be traced from the Lodge," she recalled. "Maybe he just happened to be staying there when whatever occurred took place?"

"Yes… but then everyone on the registry rooming there would have the trace aether amounts in their systems. They all would have been tagged by the system for monitoring."

"Ah, yes, you're correct." She took a breath, then added, "They never give us enough information at base. We'll just have to wait until the opportunity arises to further test Diaz ourselves."

He muttered beneath his breath. "I know you'll enjoy that."

"Excuse me?"

"Nevermind, it looks like he's done working up his courage. He's heading into the apartment."

The other scientist gave her hand a wave in his general direction, covering her thrill-seeking desire with a serious face. "Well let's get over there already."

He huffed in response, the van picking up speed just as they missed a red light.

Marco had driven a little over the speed limit himself, eager to get home quickly, but had taken more time than normal sitting in his car, overly anxious for what was to come. The ring in his pocket felt like an imposing, demanding thing that made his foot fall heavier on the gas pedal, but now caused him to slow every movement as if it weighed him down like lead.

He had gotten used to living with Janna's many late night outings. She'd long been fascinated with magic and even though he himself had no real interest, something about the topic comforted him. Even so, he wanted to reach her before she went out for the evening, just in case she had such plans.

Marco shuffled his feet as he reached his apartment's door. He drew in an immense breath that puffed out his chest, then exhaled it sharply. Dusting off his hoodie and straightening his messy hair, his keys jangled sloppily as he unlocked the locks. His nerves had started to tremble.

Janna was in the apartment with a thick brown book in her lap, and a series of small stone animals sitting on a tv tray table next to her besides the couch.

"Hey," Marco called to her as he entered. He removed his shoes at the door methodically, purposefully moving slowly. It didn't seem that Janna had heard him.

"Hey," he said again, and she lifted up her chin momentarily with a nod, indicating that she'd heard, but not tearing her eyes away from the pages, her mouth moving as she read along the words in her mind.

"You know, you read those occult books as much as most people look at their phone screens."

She persisted, holding up a single finger to make him wait.

"I was replaced by a book. Unbelievable."

He smiled then, looking at her slick black hair that fell straight along the edge of her ears. He walked up to the tray table and bent down to get a closer look at all of the small animal carvings, each having been cut from a different type of stone and having a vastly different color pattern. He could identify a lion, a turtle, a wolf, and a whale, but something else captured his fancy above trying to identify them all. The entire group of stones were set up in a circle, facing each other. In the center of them all was a single, perfect, nacho chip.

"Uh, Janna? Is there a reason why there's one nacho chip right here?"

Janna's lips muttered now under her breath, still reading the text at a mile a minute, as if she couldn't absorb the written contents fast enough.

Marco reached for the chip with the intent to eat it.

"Marco no!" Janna broke free of the book, nearly dropping it off her lap as she sprang to stop Marco's hand. She bumped into the table at the same instant, both of them freezing in place as they precariously watched the animal group wobble and teeter, but none fell down.

"Phew! Boy, Marco, that could have been a disaster. You can't just leave one nacho chip for the totems, can you?"

"Totems?" he repeated, actually feeling a little bit of a growl in his stomach, and a taste for the salty sweetness of nachos dipped in salsa. He was working up the nerve to sit next to Janna, and all of the pent-up energy was making him hungry.

"Yeah, animal totems. They need to be fed."

Marco's mouth hung open for a second, then his brow wrinkled in a questioning fashion. "Janna, you are aware that these are not living animals, right? I don't think they need this nacho as much as I do."

"I'll get you some more nachos, but this chip belongs to the totems, so don't touch! Unless you want to incur their wrath."

"Well, I certainly don't want to feel the wrath of my stomach," he chuckled.

Janna set the book down and ambled off towards the kitchen. Marco sat on the couch, being extra careful in how he placed his feet, lest he accidently bump into the table again and upset the council of shaped, but eyeless critters.

"Hmm," he reached for one but thought better of it, then put his hand back into his hoodie. His fingers touched the loop of the silver band therein, and his stomach dropped mildly. Blushing, he looked towards the kitchen while the sounds of a crumpling chip bag and a spoon hitting against a salsa dish let him know that Janna was soon to return.

He wiped his hands on his jeans, not knowing what was taking Janna so long. Maybe it hadn't been that long at all, but sitting there alone on the couch with each passing second was its own kind of jail cell. His body yearned to move, and he found himself crossing and re-crossing his legs, trying to look casual.

Janna came back into the living room with a large bowl of chips in one hand and a smaller dipping sauce bowl in the other. But once she got to Marco, she realized there wasn't much room left on the table for their snack. She stopped, eyelids frowning, looking at the pieces of stone that encircled their singular nacho chip.

"So, what are you gonna do about them?" asked Marco. "Should I move them or-"

Janna smirked in a familiar way. It was a look he had become accustomed to - that grin of seeming to know everything and finding simple questions he'd ask totally obvious.

He smiled widely, awaiting the response he knew would solve all questions.

"Oh, Marco. These are just stone animals. They can be moved."

"Oh? I wasn't sure I should touch them. Might offend them. I wouldn't want to disturb their meal or anything. You know… the whole wrath thing?"

"Just move them altogether. It will be fine… just make sure you don't eat their chip."

"Not a problem," he laughed, gathering up the smooth pieces of carved rocks eagerly. He welcomed being able to stand up again and walk, to release some of the energy that was growing more tense within his sinews by the minute, like a rubber band being pulled farther and farther away that would eventually need to snap back.

Each of the animals was about the size of a golf ball. There were quite a few, and he planned to relocate them all to the kitchen table, along with their chip. Delicately, he piled them against his chest with one arm to hold them close, then grabbed the chip with his free hand and two fingers, winking at Janna as he did so.

"Just hurry back or I'll start reading again," Janna joked, tilting her head in a teasing, child-like manner.

Marco backed up a few paces and bowed out. He was trying to act a little silly, but his nerves betrayed his legs. He tripped over one of his own feet as he back peddled.

"W-whoa!"

Marco almost lost his footing completely, and in that juggling instant he fought to make sure he didn't drop all of the stones or scrunch the chip to breaking between his fingers. Janna's eyes widened in panic as she jumped to prevent his fall, but he recovered himself by backing up against a wall.

"See? I got this. It's alright!"

To contradict him, a small sound broke the hush between them. It sounded like a pebble had fallen and skittered along the floor, along with his stomach.

Biting his lower lip momentarily, his eyes winced. He peeked to Janna who was already on her knees to scoop up the small stone animal.

"Janna, I'm sorry."

"Don't worry, Marco, you didn't break it, thankfully. That would have been really bad."

"How bad?"

"Oh, just like a decade of bad luck. This is one of the birds so, probably like ten years of having to avoid bird bombs when you walk outside."

"I'll just… uh… I'll go set these guys down."

A bit of sweat beaded across his brow as he ducked into the kitchen as quickly as he could, straining for air as if Janna's presence was an all-encompassing ocean he couldn't take a breath within, surrounded by the water. He panted as he set up the animals around the nacho chip, leaning against the table.

In his hoodie pocket, the hard roundness of the ring pressed against his belly, reminding him of its existence.

He went back to retrieve the one animal that he'd dropped. As he crossed the threshold into the living room, Janna was upon him, her boney elbow set on his shoulder as she leaned against him like he could be a wall, her eyes sassily looking towards him. She held the white marbled stone up to his nose, making his eyes go cross to see it. He startled a squeak.

"You know what this is?" she asked.

"Uhm… a uh… it's a stone… um… eagle?"

"No. It's an owl, Marco."

"Hmm, looks like an eagle to me."

"How do you see eagle! Look at those cute cheeks!"

Janna admired the surface structure of the stone, then looked up to Marco and pulled at one of his own cheeks.

"Hey! Janna! Ow!"

"It's just as cute as your cheeks. Eagles don't have cheeks!"

"OK, okay! Just quit pinching me! You're not my grandma!"

"Haha, I know. One day she will pull your cheek mole right off."

"What!"

"Shush, listen."

Janna removed her arm from his shoulder and focused her attention on the bird, her facial expression going more serious as she took his hand and led him back into the kitchen. The warmth of her fingers intertwining with his own made heat rush to his face.

"The totems are the stone reflections of spirit animals, or animal guides, in Native American lore. Each one means something significant. The fact that you dropped that owl means something. I think the owl is your spirit animal and that's how it revealed itself to you."

"An owl?"

"Yeah."

"An owl… " he rolled his eyes but his hand squeezed at hers. "Because I'm so like an owl."

"It's not about what you're like, Marco. You don't choose your spirit animal… it chooses you, dummy."

"I think you're reading too many books. Wait… was it the same book that said that totems like nachos? Because, if it was, then maybe there's something more to this research thing I should know about."

Her laugh filled the air around them, wrapping him up like a blanket.

"No, no, that's different. Each stone represents the spirit animal, and you feed the totems in the spirit realm."

"But you have a _real _chip there."

"Think of it like you, Marco. You have a body, but your spirit is inside you. That chip is just the physical outside."

"So, what you're saying is inside the nacho is a spiritual chip?"

"You feed your totem animal so that it can guide you better. It's all spiritual. Obviously there's not actually a fox spirit inside the fox stone; and no, there's isn't a spirit inside the nacho chip! It's just the representation."

He gave a light groan. "I think I'll leave this totem stuff up to you. It sounds really complicated."

"Here."

She'd handed him the owl, pressing it against his chest.

He awkwardly took it and looked at the carving, not really thinking of much, and feeling once again the ring-shaped thing in his pocket when she pressed against him.

"Uhm, what am I supposed to do with this exactly?"

"Go put it with the others. That's your totem."

"Makes sense. I think it wants some nachos."

He set the owl into its missing spot along the circle of animals. He perfectly aligned them all around the salty spectacle, moving his owl in just a little bit closer to the chip than the others.

"Here you go, have a head start."

Janna had disappeared back into the living room. As soon as he crossed out of the kitchen, she thrust the massive book up into his face. Once again he jumped with a small shriek.

"Janna! Stop doing that!"

"This says that the owl spirit will help to guide you through the darkness."

He pushed aside the book with a finger and went to sit on the couch, finally ready to dive into the nachos.

"Marco, don't you see what this means? It says you're tied to the dark, to the magical parts of life. The owl and the moon work in tandem with each other, the owl revealing hidden wisdom. You and the moon are connected in profound ways, spiritually and physically."

"Whatever, but this physical body needs physical chips, like right now."

"The owl is linked to the moon, and can be an omen of many things…" she droned off while reading, her face almost touching the pages of the musty old thing that looked like it had been sitting on some library shelf for over a hundred years, untouched.

She shuddered at the sound of his teeth gnashing into the first nacho chip, breaking her from her sentence.

"Must you?"

"I must," he said with a stuffed mouth, crumbs tumbling out. He was beginning to finally relax. "So, what's _your_ totem animal?"

"A dragon of course, duh."

He wiped his mouth with the back of his hand and swallowed the overtopped, salsa-laden chip. "But dragons aren't even a real animal!"

"They don't have to be real, Marco, this is all in the spiritual realm! And I," she said cockily, plopping down next to him and crossing her legs over his own, "have a dragon spirit animal."

"And what do they represent?"

"Everything awesome."

"I don't even know how I didn't know that. Do they like nachos too?"

"Oh yeah, probably the biggest lovers of nachos ever."

The cute way she said it caused him to happily take the moment in, a brief interlude between chips. His eyes looked away from the food bowl and met her own chocolate orbs that were looking straight back at him.

"Do you know what I love more than nachos?"

She acted annoyed at his implication, drawing her legs away from the tops of his knees. "Oh please!"

Before his brain could spare a thought given to fear, he reached into his hoodie pouch, fingers grasping the ring. He flicked it out ungracefully so that he wouldn't be able to stop himself for the speed of the action.

"Janna…"

Her eyes reflected the shimmer of the stone coming towards her, held by his outstretched hand that had a hint of a nervous twitch to it. The stumbling words cascading from his mouth she didn't really hear. Her eyes were drawn to the beauty of the ring, but the meaning of it made her recoil.

"We've sorta been through this."

"No-no, don't stop me."

"Marc-"

"Janna! I know we agreed once to be just roomies. And then that kinda went farther without really expecting it. This is like that for me. I'm in love with you, and you know that. Tell me you don't feel it too?"

Her heart felt woozy and odd, an emotion she was not at all accustomed to and didn't want making her nervous and sappy when she had such a cool demeanor to uphold. It wasn't the first time she'd heard Marco say it, and Marco had always been left hanging without the same three words being repeated back at him. This time, though, she wasn't sure how to escape that reply, or if she wanted to.

"That is a pretty sweet looking ring though, Marco."

She threw out the distraction, and he took the bait willingly, knowing full well what it was.

"You would not believe how many stores I had to go to to find something that I knew you'd like and be uniquely you. I had to go across town, and then the one store that said they had it didn't have it, and then another had something like it but not the right size anyway, so I went to this one other place which you would have loved; it had all sorts of gargoyles out front and-"

"Stop talking. I love you too."

It took him by surprise. She had said it, clearly, and loud enough for him to hear. It wasn't that she spoke it like a parrot, needing to reply it back, but it came from her feelings. He could feel it.

His face went numb, jaw hanging slightly. He'd wanted the actual words for so long, and now that he had them, he didn't know how to respond. The moment lasted like a staring contest between two kids, until finally Janna snapped out of it and gave a small slap to his arm.

"Just don't tell anyone, right? Or I'd have to kill you. Standard contract deal."

"S-So… is that a yes?"

"A yes? To what?"

His brow furrowed. "To the ring question."

"Oh, uhm… no."

"_No_ it's not an answer or _no_ to the question?" His heart was skipping. In his chest he could feel it taking long pauses along with his breath.

"Why do we have to get married? We're living together just fine as it is. Friends with benefits."

She was smiling, but the words cut a small nick in his squeezing heart. "I'm not just a friend with benefits. I want us to be a family."

"Ok, whoa, hold on," she panicked, flicking her hair away from her eyes. "When you say family, I kinda need to know exactly what you're implying."

"All of your books and knowledge, but this one word is stumping you? Janna, a family. You know, you, me, and… and…"

"And the baby makes three?"

"Not necessarily," he replied nervously, being well aware not only of how the things went the last time he had a chat about this topic, but also because of what kind of personality Janna had. "A kid? No… _Kids_ however…"

"Oh wow, plural huh? I mean, I have thought about things before but, being a mother?"

"Why not? You'd make a wonderful mother."

"And you reached that steller conclusion how?"

He whisked some hair away from his forehead, keeping the conversation light and airy as he explained it to her.

"You have been feeding animal totems with a nacho and you're afraid you won't be up to the task of feeding your own baby?"

"Mother material?" She gestured her hands from her chest downward. "This ain't it."

He placed his arm over her shoulder, nodding his head to the circle below. "Your totems beg to differ. Especially the owl." Smiling gently, he directed his attention back to the welcoming nacho bowl. He put the ring onto the table next to it. "Tell me the idea doesn't intrigue you at least a little of bringing a fresh new being into the world that you get to guide towards understanding the universe."

"I-" but she stopped, looking down at the ring.

Marco got frustrated with her delay, automatically sensing the old wounds from his past with Jackie starting to open up again. "I don't get what the big deal is. Why is it me that's the only one that seems to want to grow up and have a family."

"Grow up? Do you think I'm somehow not grown up? Plus, I don't know if I want to grow an entire human being inside my body, and then be responsible for it. I don't think I'm ready."

"And yet everything points to the contrary."

"I'm barely responsible for myself. I mean, a demon from another dimension could come out of a portal at any instant and snatch me away whenever I do my seances."

"Janna, be serious."

"I am, Marco. There are other dimensions out there we can tap in to, that we're connected to. Personally, I kinda wanna be the first one to find one. How cool would that be?"

"Cooler than being with me, I guess," he said, voice tinged with bitterness. Memories of his past started to play in his mind, telling him he was going to repeat everything he'd only just managed to survive once before. Rather than allow downheartedness to take hold, he preferred to hang onto the fresh anger beginning to rise.

Janna saw the change in his attitude and leaned in, patting him on the back. "Hey, it's OK. It's just not our path yet."

"It's not _your_ path, you mean. I get it. I understand."

"Don't be angry, Marco. You're not very good at it."

"Add that to the list of things, then."

He briskly stood from the couch, stuffed a few nachos into his face, then went back to the front door. He felt like he'd already lived the conversation through a thousand times before, and even though it was with Janna this time it would make no difference, and the outcome would be the same.

He unzipped the black hoodie, revealing the red t-shirt underneath. It had been a gift from Janna, but it was really not his preferred color. He reached for the door handle.

"Where are you going?" Janna sounded worried. Her hands clutched the edge of the couch uncharacteristically. She wasn't used to seeing the cloud over Marco's face as dark as it became. The change in the air around them she picked up on like static electricity. She could almost see his aura change colors.

"Just out for a walk."

He shut the door before he could hear her say anything more, quickly heading into the stairwell.

The two pairs of observer eyes watched him as he came out of the front of his apartment building, heading once again for his car. Maybe he left too brashly, but he was too afraid of history coming back to bite him to find out. He just needed to breathe.

"Well, that was heartbreaking," the female observer said with a small hint of pep. "It certainly didn't go well for him, now did it?"

"I should say not, but it's good news for us. At least we won't be out here all night."

The observers had been listening in on Marco's conversation with a recording device, and watching him over their dash panel from hidden cameras.

"Should we do this now?" the woman asked, pushing the pair of glasses up the bridge of her nose. "I'm ready if you are."

"Will you settle? Let's give him some space and wait until he's in a more secluded area."

"Fine, fine," she huffed, then looked around for some busy work. "I'm getting very little readings from his apartment. The Janna woman, I don't get a read off of her for any residue."

"It's too weak even on him," the man retorted. "Still though, even if it's just trace elements we have to find out why he's carrying it, why it seems intrinsically attached to just him. It's a fluke perhaps." He boredly began filling out the chart on his screen pad while he waited. "I don't know."

"Maybe we'll finally get some answers now that they want us to bring him in. The woman inside mentioned magic and dimensions. You think she knows something?"

"Not really. She's just a human dabbling in basic occult studies. There's no way she could ever come close to finding a way to open a portal. And if she was the one that did so before, she would be practically glowing with magical resonance. She's blank though. Only he has it."

The woman leaned forward against the video panel with its focus on Marco, trying to read even the most minute expression off his face before he blocked her view of it with his arms. Her nose was just a few inches from the flickering screen.

Marco had his head tucked against his arms reaching across the steering wheel, utterly defeated and exhausted. He took a last look at the apartment and started the ignition.

He didn't notice while driving to the Lodge that he was being followed. So completely encased in his own thoughts, his driving was set to autopilot, not even realizing he was in motion until he was at the pharmacy parking lot next to Echo Creek Lodge. He wasn't sure how he'd just missed the turn into the hotel parking lot. Pulling in, he slowly brought the car to a stop at the side of the building.

He got out, looking at the curb, unsure why he was drawn to the spot. Then he remembered it, an image of the blond crying girl that he'd reached his hand out to on the night he'd sliced open his hand.

Behind him he heard the sliding sound of a van door.

Turning quickly, he saw nothing, his vehicle being the only one in the lot. The overhead streets lights had come on with the descending evening, and the pharmacy itself was empty except for the cashiers.

Something like a mosquito bit into the skin of his neck. His hand was quick to slap it but not quite fast enough. Pulling his hand away, he'd expected to see the crumpled body of a bug but saw instead a tiny tuft of red fur like the tiniest pom pom ball. Then, his legs started to weaken.

Warmth spread from his neck down throughout his limbs, slowly numbing them out of his control. He staggered and reached for the curb, falling over and against someone that grabbed him delicately.

"It's alright, Marco," said a female voice as the black haze closed in around his field of vision.

"Janna?" he gasped. He didn't see anyone, invisible hands laying him down.

He was unable to move and the tiredness stole away his compulsion to fight. The flood of heat in his veins quickly sapped his strength and put him to sleep.

At the apartment complex, Janna had been pacing back and forth between rooms. She wanted to go after Marco but not until she'd made up her mind. Her first instinct was to question all that Marco had said, and she reacted on compulsion too hastily. But, as she spun the ring within her fingers that he'd left behind, she felt more and more the desire to wear it, and for it to include the roulette wheel of possible family life.

She glanced over at the silent totems, their tiny carved eyes looking back her way. Perhaps Marco was right. The single nacho stood as a testament to his words.

Family. She wasn't against that idea.

She had been taken aback at the suddenness of it, but as she freaked out about Marco's glum departure she came to grips within herself at what she wanted most. She even remembered back when she'd found Marco on the sidewalk that the very reason he broke up with Jackie was over the same conversation, and that back then she joked about having her own spawn be like minions to take over the world, how awesome that would be.

She headed to the kitchen and got out an unopened bottle of wine and two glasses, then set the ring down beside them, ready to find Marco and enthusiastically accept the proposal, including the promise of children.

Once outside she bounded over to his car, fully expecting to find him sitting there inside, only to see his keys dangling from the door lock. There was no other sign of him anywhere.

"Marco?" she called out, voice echoing between the apartment buildings. "Marco?!"

She walked up and down a couple blocks, shouting his name.

Someone from another building window shouted "POLO!" back at her and laughed.

But Marco was nowhere to be found.

**Chapter 6 was written by SledgePainter.**


	7. Earthlings

Darkness surrounded Marco. There was a peaceful stillness in the encompassing black. His head swam dizzily, and he felt as if he was floating, uncertain of which way was up or down. He slipped in and out of mental awareness, his mind a part of the serene liberation that was half sleep, half waking, hovering limply through its rather viscous embrace.

How long he remained in that pleasant stupor, he did not know, but he didn't mind it, not even fully aware of if he was indeed dreaming or not. That thought alone was a comfort, as there was peace in feeling nothing at all.

But the tranquility started to become pierced with snippets of memories. They came and left in quick blurred images that darted from left to right before him. He barely had an opportunity to recognize a vision before it was swept away again, unable to materialize into something more. It was as if someone were fast-forwarding through parts of his brain, trying to find a memory to settle on and watch. Each time a new memory broke into view it was wiped away again with a muffled pulse.

Such moments were interspersed with more of the quiet inky black, but the images came and went faster, the space between shrinking, the pulsing sound coercing his own heart rate to keep in time. He was being roused unwillingly from the stupor he was perfectly happy to remain within.

The images demanded attention; he felt forced into watching them clip by. He wanted to remain oblivious to any of it, eyes kept blissfully closed… until one blur of recollection was finally allowed to take shape.

Marco's eyes opened fully and he found himself partially walking, partially swimming towards the figure which molded into the likeness of Jackie. She was alone, standing firmly in the blackened expanse of nothingness but lit with enough light he could make her out as clearly as if she were standing at the beach beneath the sun, a reverse silhouette.

It was as if the part he had to play began to move his body on que. He had to reprise the role even though everything in him cried out not to.

She had her arms crossed over her chest while he was trying to explain himself. The words that came out of his mouth were so thick and muddled that even he couldn't understand them. When Jackie spoke, it was as comprehensible to him as if he were living in the exact same moment, but all over again.

"It can't work. You said yourself, this is _my_ life. I want to keep it."

Marco again replied, inaudibly, struggling to hear his own words but hearing only muffled sounds.

Jackie's face flushed red against the whiteness of her hair, her inner fire plain to see spreading over such pale skin.

"We can't, Marco. It's two very different wants."

Again, even more forcefully, he tried to shout at Jackie. She was tearing herself away from him and he was struggling to try and hold on, the words completely inept. And Jackie kept on talking, interrupting his failed attempts at speech.

"… it would be wrong for me to keep you wanting something you'll never have with me."

Marco's arms swung slowly through the thick air around him, trying to make it over to Jackie but gaining very little ground. She merely stood there, staring him down as he struggled.

Then she grabbed hold of his face in her hands, the huge gap between them instantly bridged in half a breath.

Jackie's voice started to merge into another familiar tone, her white silken hair turning almost as black as the hue surrounding them, her skin darkening down several shades. Her eyelids dropped to cover half of her eyes.

Suddenly it was Janna that held his face in her hands, her voice coming through the dark in a sarcastic tone.

"I am sure. I've never doubted it, just the same as you've never let it go."

Somewhere in his mind, Marco knew this wasn't how the nightmare went, and yet it felt natural, the dream almost real. He swam his hands down to take Janna's hands, guiding them to his chest. His thumbs caressed over the backs of them to feel her warmth. He could almost feel the heat of her proximity, and her breath across his ear, so familiar. Nevertheless, where Jackie was next to him now stood Janna in her place. Jackie's words were on Janna's lips.

"Listen," she said, "you can't _make_ it work. You can't force yourself to not want what you want, and you can't force me to either, or we'll both end up miserable. You do see that, right? So, I figure… now's a good time to give you an out."

She removed the silver pentagram ring on her hand. He knew what was about to happen and tried to prevent his hand from opening, trying to swim backwards to no avail. Even though nothing inside him would allow it, she opened his hand as if it took no effort, placing the ring into his palm and closing his fingers around it. He swallowed hard, having seen this happen before and rejecting his fate internally, shaking his head as hard as he could but unable to say anything intelligible. He could only relive the miserable double rejection.

"Stay amazing, ok?" she said, her image becoming noisy. As Janna made to kiss his cheek, her face flickered, going in and out like bad reception on a television station.

She blipped away, and Marco could feel his heart as if he'd fallen several floors too fast.

The ominous darkness blanketed around him again, but this time he couldn't passively accept it. The peace of the null void had been broken by his own memories, and the emotions that tore to his core. He thrashed his limbs wildly in awkward slow motion, swimming in an aimless direction. There was no escape from himself.

Then he heard a sound he could barely remember… tiny and almost like a sniffling echo. And then his mind's eye conjured up a frail image of the blond crying girl he'd once seen but couldn't recall clearly. He saw mainly her hair, tumbling down over her form like a silky golden river. But he didn't see her clothes, or even her arms and legs. Her face was hidden by the hair as her head was cast down. Yet, her voice tingled along his spine like a feeling of familiar hope.

He reached for her and the mage warbled. It couldn't stay phased into the same reality he was in. And all at once even though he hadn't blinked, she was gone.

Minutes passed, strands of time that seemed painfully infinite. He kept reaching out in the void as if he might see her again, until there was a flash of painful, searing white light that made him slam his eyes shut and twist reflexively away. He tentatively opened his eyes once again to blackness, but the flash of burning white hit a second time… then a third… and again, faster and faster in succession. He could feel the pain electrifying his brain and tried not to scream; he felt for sure that his eyes would explode out from the front of his skull.

The light increased its torture, his ears picking up the harsh shrill sound of it like metal shredding against metal. Knuckles clenched, he thrust them to his temples and staggered in the air, contorting into a floating ball. Even though his cry was stifled, he opened his mouth to scream anyway. He began to choke and gasp for air.

With a harsh pull of his neck he wretched backwards, slamming his head against something hard with a dull thud. His arms likewise connected with walls around him… curved walls. Even his knees knocked against whatever surrounded him. He was enclosed within inches of something solid trapping him on all sides. And, when his eyes finally opened, it took his mind several moments to interpret what he saw.

Two people wearing long white coats with high blue collars were scrambling behind long computer-like desks filled with glowing keys and buttons. They were rushing, looking his way, then back again at their keyboards and monitor screens, frantic to figure out, as much as Marco was, what was happening.

Marco's instincts kicked in as soon as he realized he couldn't speak, something blocking his airways that also was running down his throat. The realization hit him that he was underwater. Panic immediately set in, his feet and hands beating against the tube-like glass around him as hard as he could. His fingers tore at the device over his mouth.

There was a buzzing sound in his ears as the woman wearing the lab coat pressed a button on a panel right next to his tank and spoke through a type of intercom.

"Mr. Diaz, please, calm down. Do _not_ panic."

How he heard her voice, he wasn't sure. He didn't care. His animal fight or flight response had already drowned the voice out in a flurry of his feet and arms against thickened plexiglass.

The woman stepped quickly over to her companion and tapped a bunch of buttons in front of him, much to his own disbelief and bawking expression. He made a move to stop her but it was too late.

There was a deep, heavy machine breath and the floor beneath Marco's feet opened to reveal a gate-like drain. The water drained out so quickly it seemed to want to suck Marco down with it. The fluid enveloping him slicked down his body and suctioned his clothes, taking him down to the floor as the water vanished down through the flooring.

"Mr. Diaz, please relax," the voice said again, just as calmly as it had before, but Marco was nowhere near able to obey it. He tried to tear the contraption away from his mouth only to find it so firmly entrenched down his throat he was afraid to rip out his lungs. His fingers reached around and tore wildly at the various tubes and wires plugged into a headband-like apparatus around his forehead. He ripped one of the wires out and the woman's voice went silent.

He huddled down in a sopping wet slump on the floor of the tube, shivering madly with the shock that was settling in. His voice could only come out in muffled whines.

A small hiss of air filtered through the mask covering his nose and mouth. It had no smell but the effect was nearly instantaneous. Before he could muster the wherewithal to stand up, his limbs got heavy, along with his eyelids. With each inhale his eyesight blurred further, until sleep overtook him.

There was a creaking sound that broke through the sudden tense silence. The man behind the long console crossed his arms and had swiveled his chair to face the woman.

"I told you it was handled. What the hell were you thinking?"

"It wasn't handled. Your memory scanner is not yet a tried and true tech. It's what caused this. This isn't my fault."

"That doesn't give you the right to just e-stop everything and open the chamber."

"He was already conscious. What'd be the use of knocking him out again?"

"Look, he'd just have gone right back in and thought it was all just a dream. Would've taken me two seconds. You just couldn't wait!"

"Useless to try anyway, with those adrenaline levels."

He shrugged, holding out his palm towards the slumped Marco as proof of his abilities.

"Whatever, just help me get him up to the pod."

"We can still get him back into deprivation," he said hopingly.

"No, it's reckless to try again. We have to try something else. Besides, he's damaged the breathing tube."

With an annoyed sigh the man got up from his chair and slipped his arms under Marco's armpits while the woman grabbed his ankles. They tottered a bit as they carried his dripping form over to a bed that was inset into a pod-like medical frame, dragging the breathing tube along the floor.

As soon as they set him down into the bed the woman put sleek, blue bracelets around his wrists and ankles that instantly began to glow once they clicked into place. She got to work detaching the breathing tube that was dangling from off his headband and then, painstakingly slowly, pulling the smooth hollow tube out from his throat inch by inch. It ran deep to his lungs, and she cradled the back of his head as she slid it gently out of his mouth.

"You know what kind of trouble we're in?" the man grumbled as he closed the clear lid of the pod once she was finished. Two button presses later and a warming device which ran along the inner bed frame quickly began drying out Marco's clothes from small triangular ports running all along his body.

The woman sighed, pushing her glasses up the bridge of her nose, then cringing, tossing them off her face altogether. "Look, I know. I know. We'll deal with it. He won't be able to escape the torpefy links."

"I don't think this has ever happened before. I sure don't know the protocol for dealing with it. If the higher ranks find out-"

"They won't," she interrupted, "as long as you fix that memory rig you're so fond of trying to use."

"Pulling memories up on the monitors and erasing them are two different things," he huffed, but then smiled self-assuredly, "but hey, I'm really good at the latter. Your poor pet's life here might depend on it."

The ridgeline above her eyes jerked from arched surprise to creased down in anger. "He is not '_my pet.'_"

"Oh come off it. You've been more excited about this bring-in than any others we've done. He was always your favorite subject to track. Couldn't wait for the tag order."

"For purely scientific reasons, I can assure you, Dumont."

The use of his last name made him put up his hands in self-defense, also a move to calm her down before she went further. "I get it! I know… easy, I meant nothing. Just make sure this doesn't get personal is all I'm urging you."

The soft sound of the drying fans filled the space quietly until she snobbishly mumbled. "Why would it?"

"You don't really have to hide things from me. I've worked with you for years. You think I don't know? It's probably the main reason you signed up."

She pushed by him and grabbed one of the tablet pads they frequently took their notes on. "We don't have long before he's awake. Let's finish up with some of the side tests before he does."

"I think we need to make sure we're both on the same page here, Amber," he warned with a more stern voice. "What we've got here is a real problem, and it could cost us more than our jobs if we make the wrong play. You understand that?"

"I-I uh, don't think it would come to that. No, we won't make the wrong play."

"Good. We can indulge a little into the territory you want to dip a toe in, because I admit, I'm slightly curious too, but at the first sign of trouble we have to pull the plug. No exceptions."

"I get it."

"The higher ups only have singular goals in mind and as much as they don't tell us, I do know they aren't the forgiving types."

She relented, casting her eyes down at the tablet in her hand. "I've heard. We've got our orders and we'll fulfill them. They don't need to know anything else." She added quickly, "That is, I mean-"

"I'm on your side, you know," he smiled reassuringly, giving her the smallest of pats on the shoulder, "and I _know _you're solid with us. I'll get the last of the basic tests run with the blood vials and try to make sense of the footage we have from his stasis. He'll be awake in less than twenty so figure out how you want to do whatever it is you want to do. I'll follow your lead. With any luck maybe we can get more answers while he's conscious."

"Thank you," she said with a meek smile.

A crowd of people were milling about near Britta's taco stand. It was a brilliantly sunny day, and Janna was happy she had managed to grab a seat at one of the cement tables that had an oversized umbrella, to get some shade from the oppressive brightness. Alfonso and Ferguson were seated at the table also, joined shortly thereafter by Sabrina, Ferguson's girlfriend with their baby. She moved the stroller beside Janna and took her seat next to the small space leftover next to Ferguson, whose large size took up most of the whole bench.

Janna's natural urge when the stroller pulled up was to casually try to put a few more inches between her and the squirming bundle inside the colorful little seat, but this time she resisted, even daring to have a peek over the edge of the fabric. Inside was a rosy-cheeked infant with a surprising amount of reddish hair plopped lightly atop its head, as if a pixie set a glob of cotton candy there. Its little form was covered in the chubby baby pudge of an almost three-month old, dressed in a blue onesie with a dinosaur on the front.

Sabrina's hair was a rusty shade of brown, tied back into a ponytail. She smiled when she caught Janna having a longer look than usual at her baby.

"That's Toddy," she said with a bounce to her voice.

"Oh, uhm, hello little man," Janna said to the small face whose eyes were large and exploring. A bit of drool dribbled on his lips and he kicked his tiny feet all at once as if acknowledging her voice. "I guess you've got daddy's hair, huh?"

"Yep," Ferguson said between gulps of taco. "Little squirt has my hair but has his mother's eyes."

Janna looked into the baby's eyes again and could see the pale light green of Sabrina's eyes glistening back, though somewhat blankly.

"I see that," stammered Janna, trying to find something to say. "He's a real cutie."

Ferguson laughed and leaned forward on his chubby elbows. "Watch out Sabrina, Janna thinks I'm a real cutie."

Sabrina snorted a laugh. "No, she means Toddy!"

"Yeah, but he gets his good looks from me."

"And me! So, does she think I'm a real cutie too?"

Ferguson narrowed his eyes and shot a dangerous look across the table to Janna, pointing a taco in her direction. A bit of refried beans from the bite he'd newly just taken dripped onto the table. "She's my girl, so keep your hands off."

Alfonso stifled his own laugh and brushed Ferguson's arm aside which was hanging in the air across from his face. "Easy Gus! You know she always liked me best."

Janna let out an incoherent burst of air from her lips to blow away her bangs. "Sha-right."

Everyone at the table had a good laugh while Janna was grateful for the bit of distraction. A sense of nostalgia rolled over her while hearing them, remembering their time back in school together. She looked over the three faces and how they'd changed, if only slightly, with their age and the tacked-on responsibilities of their jobs and, in Ferguson's case, family. She looked once more down into the stroller at Tod.

"So, Janna, you had something on your mind?"

She snapped her neck back up and faced Sabrina. "Oh, uh, yeah, listen it's… it's about Marco."

The trio waited for her to continue, but the seconds of dead air were growing louder. Ferguson slowly grabbed for another taco without taking his eyes off of Janna.

Alfonso's nasally voice rushed in.

"What's wrong with Marco? Why isn't he here with you?" His pupils suddenly shrank as a new thought dawned on him. "You broke up with Marco!?"

Ferguson was hitting the bottle of hot sauce as quietly as he could over his taco when those words blurted out. "Is that true?!"

Janna shook her head hastily and put up her hands. "No-no guys. That's not what happened."

"He broke up with you?!" garbled Ferguson is surprise, nearly choking on the bite he hadn't had time to swallow properly before speaking. Alfonso slapped him a few times on the back before giving him a glaring look with narrowed eyes.

"What?! Sorry, I'm hungry," he apologized.

"Look," Janna went on, "Marco sort of… proposed to me like a week ago and-"

"You're getting MARRIED!?" squealed Sabrina who was so overwhelmed with the news she jumped up from her partial-seat and rushed around the stroller to give Janna a squeeze before she could stop it.

Janna cringed and froze in the giggly, girlish hug while Oscar, the rather spiky-toothed employee of Britta's Tacos, walked over to see what the commotion was about.

"Hey, you better keep it down." He pointed to Janna with a sheepish look on his face. "If the manager finds out I let you eat here I could get fired."

"Relax Oscar," said Janna as she helped Sabrina regain her composure by removing her hands from around her body.

Sabrina let Janna go and they both returned to their seats, Sabrina so eager to hear what Janna would say next that she too set her elbows onto the table and her chin in her hands, leaning forward like an expectant toddler for a treat. Her eyes glazed over with the romantically stupefied look of someone reading a romance novel.

"You're not still banned from eating here are you?" Alfonso balked. "That's crazy!"

Oscar ducked his head slightly and returned to the stand as a new customer came up to the ordering window. "Thanks again for the uhm… help, Janna. Just, low profile, OK?"

"What's he mean by help?" Alfonso looked from Oscar then back to Janna. His eyebrow raised suspiciously behind his black-framed glasses.

Janna spoke quickly to avoid having to explain longer. "I helped him get a management position at Britta's and he sells me tacos whenever the boss isn't around, K? Look, guys," she rubbed her forehead with two fingers, starting to become overwhelmed with the weight of her worry and inability to communicate without being interrupted by silliness, "this isn't about all that. I need to talk to you about Marco and me, and how I can't find Marco anywhere. This is serious. He disappeared and I was hoping maybe one of you could tell me you heard anything."

The group all looked at each other, shrugging and shaking their heads.

"I haven't heard anything," Sabrina said, followed by Alfonso stating the same. He plugged away at his phone only to come back with, "I haven't gotten a text from him in ages."

Ferguson furrowed his brow and wrinkled up his nose so much that his freckles seemed to disappear. "Uhhh, last time I saw Marco was… was when he… dang, Janna, I'm sorry but I don't know exactly."

"Well, try to remember. It's important," Janna pushed.

He thought harder but drew a blank, slumping his shoulders. "I guess last time was somewhere around four months ago. We don't often get out due to the kiddo now, you know? Last time I saw Marco was the baby shower I think."

"Yep," Alfonso confirmed, showing his phone. "That's when we got together last, actually."

"Oh, damn that is a long time ago," she sighed.

"Janna! Tell us what happened!" insisted Sabrina.

With a heavy breath, Janna told them what had happened the day Marco had left the apartment complex. She retold everything just as it had been, though sparing them from hearing what emotional state she was starting to slide into. She kept her eyes focused on a crinkly taco wrapper idly moving with a small breeze between the saltshaker and pepper, glancing up only once in a while to make eye contact, though her errant gaze was distant.

Ferguson steadily took crunching bites of his taco until he finished, Sabrina slurped the last of her soda, and Alfonso nervously checked his smart phone for anything that Marco might have posted.

"Man, he hasn't played 'Martial Arts Zombie Killer' either in the last week. That's like his favorite game."

Tod started to make a fuss, reaching out with his hands and opening and closing his fingers. A single bubble of spittle dripped down his chin as he looked around at the adults.

"Janna, wanna come with me to the bathroom real quick?"

Sabrina's question found it's way into Janna's ear and made her stop her brain process of retracing Marco's possible steps after leaving his car behind.

"You know, I'm normally not one of those girls that goes off with others to the bathroom to do makeup, Sabie."

The woman rolled her eyes and pursed her lips, giving her a glance that was almost conspiratorial. It took Janna a moment to comprehend why she would have asked such a thing, but the look given by Sabrina helped her understand that she wanted to speak to her in private.

"I think Toddy needs a diaper change, and you can help me," she said, in case Janna needed a reason to accompany her.

"Yeah, yeah… sure, sure," said Janna as both she and Sabrina headed towards the outdoor bathroom facility provided by the park.

As soon as they both got through the door, Sabrina turned and held out Tod towards her, surprising her with Tod's face held up into her own.

"Do me a fave and let me use the restroom while you hold Toddy? Thanks!"

All at once the bundle was thrust into her arms, leaving her no room to object.

The baby wasn't nearly as heavy as she anticipated, and it was easy enough for her to turn his little form horizontally to rest against her chest, to hold him in a more comfortable way. Toddy, in response, squeezed his little fists and made a small burbling, cooing sound, calming down as he listened to Janna's heartbeats.

Sabrina had quickly disappeared into one of the stalls. The rest were all vacant, leaving Janna there holding the small boy alone, nobody doing their makeup in the mirrors next to her or moving around to use a hand dryer, grab a tissue, or otherwise cause her to feign casual acceptance of her newly acquired job as baby-holder. While she was submerged in anxiety over Marco and unsure of her next move, a thousand thoughts coursing through her mind, her nervousness about holding the boy ebbed. She looked down at his peaceful face, oblivious of the trials of life, and it was as if time decided to slow down. When she lifted her head, she saw the reflection of a different woman in the bathroom mirror. Her own eyes stared back, a woman holding a baby that might as well have been her own, and it was content. Its tiny fist was placed directly against her breast while its head nestled against her heart. A part of her inner psyche paused her mental acrobatics of worry if only for those few moments, allowing her to see herself as she could potentially be with Marco.

She smiled, using just a single finger to rub over the back of Tod's hand.

"Janna!"

She flinched, only just realizing that Sabrina had finished in the bathroom and was already done washing her hands, now staring at her with a strange grin playing on her lips.

"Oh! Sorry, didn't notice-"

"Yeah, I can see!" she laughed, quickly peeling Tod away from Janna's arms.

She felt the small warm thing leave her chest, a twinge of regret replacing it.

"Geeze, Janna, if I didn't know better, I'd think you were put under some spell."

Janna brushed it off with an embarrassed smirk, removing her hat and combing her fingers through her dark hair. "Nah, man, I was just thinking about Marco. Got a little lost in thought."

"Uh-huh," the other woman said idly as she took Tod to a baby changing table and got to work unbuttoning his onesie with one hand while fishing through her large baby bag with the other, her hand deftly choosing the correct items with just a touch, pulling out baby powder and a fresh diaper. "I wanted to ask you while we could talk for a minute alone."

She put her hat back on, "What?"

"About Marco proposing. Did you say yes?"

"You didn't need me to come with you to the bathroom to ask that. I'm sure Ferguson and Alfonso want to know too."

"Once those boys start talking about 'Ninja Death Kill' or whatever video game, they're lost. They'll be comparing achievements until we come back out there, watch."

"Well the answer is… I didn't give him an answer."

"You mean you didn't say yes or no?"

"That's pretty much what it means to not give an answer."

"Ohhh!" Sabrina growled playfully, poofing the baby powder over Tod's bottom and wrapping his diaper up all in one seemingly fluid motion. "I know that! Just tell me what happened."

"I'd been trying to this entire time!" she looked down at Tod. "You look like you're a diaper master already, wow."

"Now who's stalling?" she smiled, her eyes warmly narrowing. She buttoned up Tod's outfit and cradled him up onto her shoulder. "Go on, before someone else come in here."

Janna took her advice and hurried to explain. "Marco proposed and then talked about children, and I wasn't sure about that part. He got all upset before I could really explain, and I was hoping I'd not have to so… I kinda just played it off."

"Janna being Janna, hmm?"

She sighed, "I figured we had no reason to discuss it right then and there, plus I don't really believe I'd be ready for a baby."

"I have a secret for you. You're never really ready, even when you think you are. Sometimes great things come unplanned. Look at Toddy. Ferg and I didn't exactly plan for this. Now we're set to plan a wedding. I thought I was happy before, and now I'm even happier than I was. Who knew? Feels like, being whole, you know? You, the love of your life, and your baby bean."

One side of Janna's mouth pressed into her cheek as she shrugged. "I guess?"

"What are you going to tell Marco when you see him?" she pressed on, closing up the changing table.

"I'm going to tell him… well I have to find him first."

"Obviously! But then what?"

"I'm going to say… we can give it a chance." She winced as she expected a second squealing explosion from Sabrina, and was not wrong, as the other woman went through a stereotypical giggle-jump followed by incoherent excited sounds like a kid being told they were going to Disney World.

"That's wonderful news! Then little Toddy will get someone to play with, won't he? Won't he?" She started to talk baby talk as she held up Tod to her eye level, rubbing her nose against his as she spoke. "We just have to go find that runaway Marco first, don't we? Yes we do!" She tossed him playfully and the baby laughed in tiny, shrill spurts.

Janna put a hand to her head and then adjusted her hat, so Sabrina didn't see her exasperated motion, then followed Sabrina out of the bathroom.

As they got closer to the guys sitting at the taco table they could already make out what they were talking about, as their own excited dialog filled the air. Ferguson was wildly using his hands towards Alfonso.

"There was this one time that Marco, like, took his electric power sword and rammed it through a zombie's skull through its eye-hole and then jump-kicked it at the same time, because like, lag, and then the game glitched and sent the torso flying but the head was still stuck on the sword for the rest of the match! It was awesome!"

Sabrina softly whispered to Janna, "See?"

Janna chuckled lightly. "Well, it's not really about game achievements, but yeah." She took her seat at the table and spoke louder as soon as Alfonso stopped laughing. "I wish I could've been there to see that! But hey, seriously, have you checked Marco's on-line groups where you guys game and chat? Anything there at all posted by him over the past week?"

Alfonso sadly shook his head, "Nothing. Checked. We thought maybe you could check your bank statements and see if he used his credit card?"

"Dude, we don't have linked accounts just because we live together!"

"How should I know? Was just a suggestion. I figure he took his wallet and would've had to spend money somewhere."

"Was my idea," admitted Ferguson with a shy, apologetic air. "Once Toddy came along Sabie and I got a joint account at the same bank, not that we check each other's accounts like stalkers, just saying we know if each other spends money."

Sabrina didn't sit down, instead clearing some of the wrappers and napkins off the table and throwing them away. "Janna said Marco didn't give her time to really respond to the proposal before he got upset and left. Now he has been gone a week, but to where? Did you check at the Echo Creek Lodge?"

"Yep," Janna replied. "They wouldn't tell me much at the counter," she grumbled with a snobbish huff, "_privacy issues_… but I have my ways. Got a friend working the clean-up crew that owed me a favor. Anyway, that's a no. He hasn't been there."

"If he isn't there, and hasn't been to our place, or to Alfonso, then… uhm," her voice drifted as she realized something while speaking, now unable to stop her sentence without it being awkward. "Uhm… maybe try… Jackie?" she mumbled hesitantly.

Janna opened her eyes wide. "What?! He wouldn't!"

"I just had to ask, Janna, I had to, sorry! I don't think Marco would, but, I mean, you kinda have to know or else you're going to have to go to the police and file a missing person's report. Wait, did you check with his parents?"

"I really didn't want to involve them any more than I had to. I did call, and no they haven't heard from him."

"They must be worried sick!"

"No, I made sure to ask about him really casually. I didn't want to upset them unless I had to, which I _would_ do if I end up having to go to the police."

"Then, it can't hurt to go over to Jackie's… just to see if she saw him."

Janna sighed angrily. The idea hadn't even occurred to her to ask Jackie and now that it was brought up, it was unsettling her to not know the truth. She stood up from the table due to her anxious nerves and to keep herself from saying anything she didn't mean.

"You guys'll let me know if you hear anything, right?"

"For sure," said Ferguson and Sabrina at the same time.

Alfonso likewise agreed, then nervously added, "Marco wouldn't do that, Janna, I… don't think."

She smirked her usual sarcastic grin and said, as nonchalantly as she was able to feign, "I know, dude, chill. I'll just go over and see if she's heard anything. I know it's no problem." She clenched her jaw to keep from saying more.

Marco could feel his head throb slightly, the back of it pulsing every now and then, causing him to slowly come out of the gas-induced sleep. His eyes fluttered, and soft light filled his squinting eyesight dimly before allowing him to see more clearly. He could see that he was in another type of tube, with glass enclosing him, but resting this time on a soft bed of fabric surrounded by a high rim like a bedrail.

He made to reach up with his hand but found it to be almost immobile. The same with his other hand and feet. He tried to strain to move but the glowing bands around his wrists held him down as if they were lead.

"Hey, what's going on!" he half shouted, grunting as he tried to break free.

"Mr. Diaz, I see you're awake," came a familiar female voice. "Hang on, allow me to make you a bit more comfortable."

He saw the upper part of the woman come into view, with her white lab coat and high blue collar, brownish hair tied in the back. She had put on her mock glasses again and pushed a couple buttons somewhere off to his side. The tube glass before him slid open.

"There, now we can see face to face," she smiled.

"Where am I?" he angrily barked. "Why do you have me… " he looked down at his glowing wrists, "tied down like this. What is this?!"

"Relax, Mr. Diaz. Those bands are your wrists and ankles are torpefy links. They help restrain you to keep you from hurting yourself during our tests."

"Tests?! What are you talking about? Am I at the hospital or something?" He swallowed hard, gulping down some air. "And, did you have something in my throat?"

"Again, you're safe here, just don't fight the restraints too much or you'll get a shock. Now that you're awake we can actually run a series of stronger scans. I'd say try to remain still but I know you already are, so we can commence with those tests now."

"Wait! I don't consent to this! Who are you? Where's Janna?"

The woman didn't reply, merely peeking up at him with narrowed eyes as she tapped in some notes on her tablet. Without another word she raised a hand over towards her partner which Marco couldn't see, then gave a nod. A metallic arm as large as those used to build cars on an assembly line raised from the floor beside Marco's tube. It angled itself fluidly and with barely any sound, the head of it being long and flat like a table light full of LEDs. It positioned itself at his feet, overhanging his bed.

"What are you gonna do?" Marco asked nervously.

The flat head on the arm lit up while the arm gradually moved along the bedside. A thick green beam of solid bright light cast down from it, methodically moving over Marco's body. He clenched his fists ass it traveled along himself, unsure if he felt a small heat coming from the beam that was touching him or if it was just in his mind. Nevertheless, he clenched his jaw and looked away from the light.

It moved over his head, that much he was sure. He could see the back sides of his eyelids glow red and then the machine made a three-beep warning sound. Once the light was gone from his eyes he felt safer to take a glance at where the machine's position; it was on his forehead.

"W-What is it doing now!?"

The woman had come to lean over his bed and inspect the line of light, then hummed curiously while the light turned purple, then green again as it went back down Marco's frame.

Marco stifled a scream. "What are you DOING to me!"

But the woman didn't respond, her eyes tracking the line of light until the cyborg-like arm reached his toes. It had finished its process and so went into the maneuver to reposition itself back into sleep mode somewhere off Marco's viewing range, out of sight.

"It appears," she began, "that a deeper scan of you while conscious has given us a bit more information. I have a full work up for you. You're perfectly healthy, Mr. Diaz, but there is a bit of a mutation, if you will, with regards to your DNA."

"What?"

"That's not really the correct term for it but it's the closest I am willing to share with you right now."

Marco's patience had worn thin. His initial fear was replaced with growing anger as he tested the limits of the torpefy links. He'd managed to move his left wrist just about half an inch when he felt a buzz move up his arm.

"Yee-oww! Hey! Will you explain to me while I'm being held captive here! I have rights!"

She spun on him. "Here you are under our… protection, Mr. Diaz. But whatever rights you think you have do not apply here. We are doing work for a greater good that supersedes your 'inalienable rights.' Heh, it's funny how they say it that way."

A male voice laughed from somewhere in the room. "Little do you know what aliens there are, eh? Maybe even in this room."

The woman observer shot her partner a look but then turned back to Marco.

"I'll cut you a break. If you're willing to help us out, then maybe we can let you go once we find out the answers to our questions."

"You haven't answered any of MY questions! All you've done is keep me here as your prisoner in what looks like some hospital bed!"

Marco couldn't see past the bed frame into the small lab tech-like room he was in. He could only hear the movement of a squeaky chair rolling across the floor from someone other than the woman staring down at him, and the occasional beep and sputter from computer consoles. The room felt cold to him, and the air smelled sterile and overly clean.

He continued but decided to restrain his anger. He took his voice down a notch, trying to be calm even though every sinew in his body was beginning to tremble.

"Where am I?"

The woman answered matter-of-factly, "You're safe."

He furrowed his brow and spoke slower. "Okay, let me try to ask something else. Who are you?"

"We are the Watchers, observers of… humanity."

"Look, can you just give me a straight answer? Here, try asking me something and I'll answer, no games."

"Alright, Mr. Diaz. My question is: have you had any obvious paranormal experiences that you can recall within the past year of your life?"

"Oh boy, you mean within just the past year?" he questioned aloud, barely holding back the sarcasm his tongue dripping with. "No, no I can't say I have. I maybe might have seen a UFO one night but then again it could have been a meteor. That's about it."

The woman raised her chin, taking a stiff breath. "That wasn't so bad, was it?"

"Where am I?" he insisted, nails biting into his palms.

"You're in an underground facility belonging to the Watchers."

"OK, progress, good. Now, where is Janna?"

"Your current girlfriend? She's wherever you left her. We have no interest with her."

"And how long have I been here?"

"Since last Friday so… six days."

"Six days?! I've been gone a week?!"

"Just about."

"And why are you holding me hostage?"

The woman paused, mulling over the question. Finally, she leaned on the side of the bed, poking her glasses back up the bridge of her nose with one finger. "I've already given you that answer, Mr. Diaz. You are helping us do necessary research."

"Necessary for who, and why?" He tried to sit up but was held back by the glowing bonds which kept him firmly planted. "Can't you just turn these things off for a minute or something?"

The man's voice broke into their conversation. "You should come look at this."

"Excuse me," said Amber, and she turned quickly to go to her partner.

"Wait!" Marco uselessly called out, annoyed when there was no reply and even more irritated that he was stuck helplessly staring up at the white ceiling.

Amber placed a hand on the chairback of her partner, looking at the rows of computer monitors, the centermost of which was flickering with Marco's recorded memories.

"Right here is when things got hairy." He spun a dial and tuned the quality of the image in as crisply as he could get it. "Right… here." What was displayed on the screen came directly out of Marco's brain when he had been in the sensory deprivation tank, looking somewhat like playing a first-person role-playing game.

The screen flashed white and then the voice of the crying girl could be heard, and her blond hair seen if only for a few moments. Marco's hands were reaching out towards her, trying desperately to reach her, and then the screen flashed white and went black.

"Something here coincided with a disruption in the signal. Everything was running fine until then. I could run through all of the memories, forward and backward, but then this occurred. And the really strange part was I tried to skip over her thinking she was just another of his girlfriends. It forced itself to play out and I couldn't fast forward."

"And you didn't think to tell me this before?" she growled, lowering herself over the back of his chair to get a closer look at the monitor when he rewound the footage.

"I wasn't exactly sure what happened. I wanted to study it more before coming to you with the conclusion."

"Do we know this girl?"

"There's literally no record of her that I can find in Mr. Diaz's memories except for these frames. I think it's just a nightmare vision, nothing more. I cross checked her description across the database of the people who most often interact with Mr. Diaz. There was no match."

"But what does this mean then?"

His eyebrows raised and he shook his head in disbelief. "I don't know, but I can guess it has something to do with the deep scanner when it did its little purple dance after it hit his forehead. It also scans for inconsistencies and my guess is this is just a recurring nightmare, not based on an actual event."

"How do you figure?"

"When the light turned purple it recorded a spike of activity in his amygdala. This is associated with PTSD. His is overly sensitive. And, like you were so quick to point out, this tech still needs… to work out some kinks."

She stood back straight again and rested a finger on her chin, eyes staring blankly forward while she took in the information. Meanwhile, Marco was huffing and puffing, both trying to get loose and get her attention.

"Uh, I'm still over here being a prisoner!"

The man's eyes only moved to look at the table, then up at the woman. "It doesn't really matter what we tell him. We've gotten all of the samples and scans we need at this point. Everything is accounted for. The residue in the cell structures do not come directly from him so he's the wrong mark. I've got to report to base and send everything along."

"Wait a minute, the wrong mark?" Her voice raised but then she quickly hushed it to a harsh whisper. "That can't be! You mean all this time we were tracking the wrong person? The agency doesn't make mistakes like that!"

"I'm just going by what the actual tests say. It wasn't that we tracked the wrong person. He _does_ have the aether residue. But it's not emanating from _his own_ cells. There's nothing here that makes him any more special than any of the others… well, except for how the instruments respond strangely, but that has nothing to do with the hard DNA results." He saw the disappointed look come over her out of the corner of his eye, but pretended not to notice. "However, he is a good candidate for fertility trials… we keep track of him and his progeny and see what results. There is promise there."

"Hellloooo!" Marco howled.

"I-I guess. Do what you have to do," she said, turning sharply on her heel and going back to Marco like getting ready to scold a child.

"Let me ask you more questions, Mr. Diaz!"

"Let me ask you to undo these handcuffs!"

"Not going to happen."

He scornfully glared her down. "Then why should I cooperate?"

Amber's face had been stern, but it softened slightly as she looked at him. Her eyes made an effort to look away towards other things shyly, but it was of little use. And when she sighed, it was as if she was removing a heavy façade from off her shoulders.

"Mr. Diaz… Marco… we are not your prison keepers."

She pushed a button and the torpefy links around his wrists unclicked, losing their luminescence and falling open, allowing him to sit up. There came a stunned sound from the woman's male counterpart but she shook her head in his general direction, waving a hand in a downplaying fashion.

"It's all right," she said both to her partner as well as to Marco, and even to herself. "You can't actually escape from this room. You don't have the necessary genetic clearance."

"Genetic clearance?"

"Yes," she held up her hand to show him her palm. "None of these doors open with something as archaic as keys. You see that pad on the wall over there? I know you've been looking… don't think I can't tell you trying to figure your way out of this room as we speak. That's the exit door, and that's the palm scanner. It only reads certain DNA signatures."

Marco sat up and brushed his hair back, then rubbed his wrists. The feeling of even partial freedom was promising.

All around the room Marco saw walls full of monitors that trailed down into keyless computer consoles that were as slick as anything he'd ever seen on a sci-fi show dealing with space travel. Across the room he saw the stasis tube he had once been in, and next to that another row of monitors with a man sitting in front of them he thought he recognized.

"Hey, have I seen you two before? Wait, you're those weird cosplayers we saw at the convention, aren't you?"

"Yeah, right," the guy said, gathering together a bunch of vials full of fluids that looked like blood and other matter, scanning them with a gun-like apparatus that ingrained a barcode onto each glass surface. "We're super nerds, can't you tell?"

"So, what is the work you're doing for the world again?"

"I didn't say," said the woman. "We are trying to help our world… err, yes the world, in pinpointing certain DNA problems."

"Uhm… what exactly do you mean? What world? Like Africa or something?"

"Look, we are the Watchers, but although we look like you, we are _not_ like you. Think of us like a different species."

"So, I've been abducted by aliens?" he said half jokingly.

She rolled her eyes and crossed her arms. "Yeah, you can say that."

He checked his body for intrusions. "I don't see any scars. You guys didn't anal probe me did you!?"

The man laughed out loud as he clanked together the various vials and set them onto a round disk in the corner of the room. As soon as he did so the platform glowed with an eerie green swirling light. The slew of vials levitated, spun around, and, right before Marco's eyes, disappeared down through the green slurry of light.

"W-what!" Marco's eyes shot to twice their size in dismay.

"That's just a small transport portal, Diaz," the man groaned. "Get a grip will you? You act like you never read a comic book before, Mr. Sci-Fi Convention Goer."

"You're s-seriously aliens!?"

"Seriously," the woman said, unable to prevent a small smile from appearing in the corners of her lips. "But don't worry, no anal probing. We just did a lot of scan work-ups. You know, MRI, EKG, CT scan, X-Ray, along with cell culturing and gathering of bodily fluids. Just standard alien-needed fare."

"Look, I don't know who – or WHAT – you guys are or if you're filming me for some new reality show, but, I'm not having it right now and it's freaking me out, so why not just let me go and we'll say we're even!" He started to claw at the links at his ankles.

"Can't until we hear back from the agency. You're stuck with us until then but it's usually not a long wait… just long enough for my partner to get the memory removal program in sync."

"The agency!? Who's that? I want to keep my memories! You can't do this to me! This is America!"

Both of the Watchers chuckled.

"Oh, Mr. Diaz, you're so naïve," said Amber. "We are everywhere. We are in your town, your cities, your states and countries. We're on every continent, in every school and division of government. We are… part of all things, but hidden, silent, always watching. We help make the laws you stand on but we are also above those laws."

"This can't be happening," he said, feeling slightly overheated, his pulse hammering so fast he felt almost faint. The links glowed a sharper blue and sent a shockwave up through his legs, making him yelp and fall back down.

"What did I tell you about the bonds?" she said, pulling up a stool next to his bedside.

"Let me go; just let me go back home. I won't say anything. Pfft, who'd believe me?"

"They wouldn't, you're right, but it's not something we can just do. We have our orders. You're actually lucky we're even speaking. We don't usually get this opportunity."

"I'm honored," he said while sitting up and crossing his arms across his chest as if cold. "You abduct me, torture me, and steal parts of me you have no right to do. You expect me to cooperate and then you tell me you're not even human! Now we're waiting for some secret agency that has infiltrated the rest of the world to even let me go. And to let me go you're going to turn my brain into pudding – Terrific day I'm having."

"I'm Amber, by the way," she said. "And I'd say you're having a good day, considering how this all could have gone."

"Could have gone? How can it be worse?!"

She looked away and didn't reply. Something came up on her tablet and she distracted herself with reading it.

"Why me?" he asked, slumping his shoulders. "Is there any way to get out of this without getting rid of my memories?"

"After everything we've talked about? Impossible. You were never even supposed to be aware that we exist."

She looked away from the tablet screen and into his dejected brown eyes, feeling sympathy for his situation. His boyish nature and hopeless look reached out to her often sheltered emotional impulses. She felt his allure even though he wasn't aware of it.

"Marco, you're just one of hundreds of thousands of humans that are helping us out with our research. We found you, though, because you also carried a unique signature about you. It alerted the agency to put you into our program for further study."

He listened, but was fighting aggravation and hopelessness. He couldn't help but scan the room trying to figure out a way to escape, and how he might overpower the other man in the room. It also got under his nerves that the man didn't pay him much mind, as if he was of so little concern he was nothing more than another lab rat, though he didn't see any animals in the room.

"What exactly are you even studying?" he said, just trying to keep the conversation flowing but not really caring for the answer.

"Fertility, actually. And in that area you're quite a promising subject, according to my partner. Of course, I could guess that just by looking at your physique. I don't need tests for that!"

The man made some rebuttal of noise but otherwise stayed buried in his work, plinking away at his tablet screen.

"Do I even want to know how?" Marco asked blindly. "If you're not even human, how can we make a difference for you? Uhm, also," his voice cracked, "is that the way you normally look or are you some kind of shape shifter?"

She spread her arms and looked down at herself. "This is my standard look."

"Are you suuuure there's not like… a reptile skin under there and you're just using some camouflage?"

Her eyes became slits. Even though she knew he had no concept of her world, she felt ticked at the very suggestion. "I am no monster, Mr. Diaz."

"Are you a cyborg?"

She intentionally took a deep breath, huffing with annoyance.

"You look human, like me."

"Think of us as distant cousins. Look-" she lowered her voice, then began again, more softly than before and with all hints of aggravation put aside. Almost timidly, she tried to get more on his level. He could have been wrong but he thought he saw her pout her lips as she spoke again. "Mr. Diaz, I could offer you an out."

He looked directly at her, opening his mouth to speak but she continued, rather coyly.

"I could use your help with one thing, and if you do it for me, I can get you back to your normal life a little easier."

"You mean you'll not wipe my memories?"

She shook her head. "No, that still has to happen. But, instead of doing a more pervasive procedure that could set you back too much, we can tweak it, to make it less arduous on you and you will only forget the past few days without any lasting aftereffects."

"Why wouldn't you just do that in the first place?"

"We have certain rules we follow. While this whole thing with you talking with us and knowing about our plans is unorthodox, the standard rule for dealing with mind wipes usually resets the brain to a point around a week back, yes, but it comes with some consequences because it's a generic procedure. That doesn't mean we can't alter it for a special circumstance like you."

"You do this procedure often?"

"No."

"Wow, that fills me with confidence."

"You want the truth, right? It's not every day we divulge our existence to others. We just have it as sort of a back-up plan for when people get too close to the truth. It wipes their memories and garbles everything up so any memories to do come back appear like bad dreams or drunk hallucinations. Where do you think all of the stories come from about alien abduction? The abduction happens, but the stories are about beams of light and grey beings with big black eyes, big heads, and skinny little bodies. Nothing makes a whole lot of sense. The array used for memory wipes sorta causes all of that but it's too technical to get into how it works with the brain."

"But… you can make it better?"

"Correct. We can make it so you won't have those strange experiences when you wake up. You might not know what happened during your lost time but you also won't suffer any post-traumatic stress."

"How would I explain my being gone to Janna, to my friends and family? They must be worried by now."

"We have a solution for that you needn't worry about. But tell me, are you interested in helping me?"

He saw in her eyes a glisten, and her mouth had the hint of a smile on it.

Relenting, he smiled back but only to make her feel more comfortable. "If I can't escape, then at least let me out of the rest of these link things, then we'll talk."

"Agreed."

Marco couldn't believe when the links darkened and clicked open. He drew his feet up almost against his chest, then looked up to her. "Wow, you were serious."

"I am nothing if not dedicated to my goals, both for the agency but also for… more personal ones."

The man in the room spun on his chair. "Are you sure about this?" He was speaking to Amber.

"I'm sure," she replied in haste, though without looking back at him.

"Because this is the part that could sink us both."

"You said you were on my side. I will pay it forward on your behalf, should the opportunity arise."

"Mmmph," he muttered. "Very well, carry on. Just giving you a friendly reminder."

She swiveled back on her chair and got even closer to Marco, her elbow overhanging the bedframe and her breath gently hitting his cheek, she was so near.

"Now Mr. Diaz, I need your help getting pregnant."

Janna had been sitting in her car for almost twenty minutes, parked across the street from Jackie's duplex. Her hands gripped the steering wheel so hard that her knuckles had gone white, contrasting against the usual dark tan color of her skin. She took many glances out the driver's side window at the building, almost expecting Jackie to come jumping out at any moment. She took several deep breaths trying to muster up both her nerve but also to settle down her stomach, which roiled in a torrent of taco spice mixed with suspenseful fear.

Finally, the sun overhead had gotten the better of her, beating down through the vehicle windows to increase the temperature within. Since she had turned the car off when she'd parked, the heat was almost at a level to cause her to sweat. It had grown more uncomfortable to sit there than to act.

She swung the car door open, immediately feeling a cool wind rush in to bring her relief.

As she made her way up the walkway she thought about what exactly she'd say to Jackie, how to approach the subject delicately, and to be prepared to deal with possibly finding Marco inside. All of the worst-case scenarios pranced along the corners of her mind though she fought to think more positive. It was entirely possible that Jackie hadn't seen Marco, which would be good news. But then she realized that wasn't exactly good news at all, since it meant that he would still be missing.

She looked both ways while she trekked up the path, then reached out her hand to knock on the door of the house on the left. She was certain that was Jackie's residence, and a skateboard was resting against the wall right next to the door, complete with stickers slapped all over it.

She could hear someone walking down stairs inside, the thuds coming closer; she swallowed down the oppressive lump in her throat.

As the door opened she saw a woman with skin darker than her own, let alone the pallid cream of Jackie's. Her hair was slicked back and black, with deep purple eyeshadow highlighting her chocolate eyes.

The woman at the door greeted her with a lipsticked smile and a hearty "Bonjour!"

"Oh uhm… " All of Janna's built up pressure instantly deflated with embarrassment, though she played it off in her typical collected fashion. "My bad. I think I knocked at the wrong house. Sorry about-"

"Janna!"

The voice came from inside the house, and within the span of two seconds another person was bounding down a flight of stairs. It was unmistakably Jackie, wearing a black denim jacket to make her nearly white hair stand out even more than its norm, a slice of dyed teal running like a river along one side.

"Hey girl! How long's it been?"

"Jackie, good to see you," she half-lied, trying to keep her cool. She didn't want to sound unenthusiastic.

Jackie placed a hand on the shoulder of the woman that had opened the door.

"This is Chloe. Chloe, meet Janna. We went to school together."

"Ah! Nice to meet you, Janna," Chloe said with a flutter of her long eyelashes. Her French accent made her name sound more fluid and less hard-edged, with a 'Jah' instead of a 'Jan.'

Janna gave her a finger gun salute, "Hey."

"I met up with her in France," Jackie said, the hand she placed on Chloe's shoulder moving down to her waistline, even drawing her in. "She taught me all about the beauty of French architecture, and how to do sweet parkour off it! Now that she's moved in a while, I'm showing her the coolest of Echo Creek life."

Janna's eyes saw the hand placement, then drifted back up to see their faces. "You live together? Like_, live together_, live together? Not with Armstrong anymore?"

"Oh Janna," smirked Jackie. "I wasn't with Armstrong long. He was more of a rebound guy. After Marco I decided I need to refocus on the things I genuinely wanted out of life. I joined up with this French tour program and learned a lot about myself."

The way that Jackie was speaking, Janna heard loud and clear the undercurrent to the question she had been silently asking. She was both shocked and slightly relieved at the new turn of events that even she couldn't have conceived of.

"Hey Jackie, you know it's cool with me," she reassured.

Both Chloe and Jackie looked at each other and smiled, Jackie nuzzling into her girlfriend's cheek and pecking her with a kiss. "Like I said… I learned A LOT about myself. But how've you been doing? You and Diaz still a thing?"

"Actually," she scratched behind an ear, "that's sorta why I came over."

"Did Marco get stuck babysitting and then decide to abduct his own sister to raise?!" Jackie laughed, then waved for her to come inside.

Jackie's house was fairly elegant, yet simple, splashed with white and blue colors as if the place belonged on beachfront property. In the main living room were even two upright surf boards, signed with a good number of signatures from her travels. Their glossy coats reflected the bright light of the room. Everything else well in order and not even one of the several dozen photo frames hung on the walls was askew. There wasn't a piece of paper or pen left disorganized. Against the wall was an electric guitar in a stand while over the wooden floor was a large round tan carpet, printed like a sand dollar. Curtains made completely out of white cowrie shells hung down like beaded partitions, acting like doors to access other areas of the cozy home.

The pair brought Janna in and offered her a seat on the white and blue striped couch or one of the many cushions or bean bags lying about. She plopped down onto one of the indigo cushions in front of the coffee table; the others did the same.

Janna explained the reason for her visit, omitting the part about suspecting Marco of potentially cheating, and asked Jackie if she had seen or heard from him within the past long week. She sat back on her palms and looked, for all intents and purposes, like she wasn't at all worried. Jackie, on the other hand, held enough concern in her expression for the both of them.

"I'm sorry but I haven't spoken to Marco much since the break-up. He took it pretty hard, from what I was told." She ran one hand behind her neck and squeezed Chloe's hand with the other. "He's a good guy. I still feel bad about how he took it, but I think it was for the best. I'd never have found Chloe if it wasn't for him, and now you're able to pursue your crush."

"Pssht, crush… please," Janna chuckled. "I picked on him only because it was fun."

"Which you'll get to do now for the rest of your lives," she smiled back. "when you find him."

"For sure," she said, "but since he isn't with you… and not with anyone else we know, I don't know where to look."

Jackie crossed her legs while Chloe looked on reassuringly, not able to contribute much but trying to provide her emotional support. Jackie's smile had waned as she continued.

"Janna, after the argument Marco and I had, I think he probably didn't wait for your answer because he didn't want to relive what happened again. He assumed the worst."

"I didn't mean for that, but he sprung it on me so fast. I didn't think Marco was being as serious as he was. Now that I know, and I've had time to think, I don't mind being a woman with a ring on her finger and, well, yeah I guess grow a minion inside me that can later do my bidding."

Jackie laughed suddenly.

"What's so funny?"

"It's just that out of everyone we know, I took you to be the last one to be married with children. I'm just trying to picture what a baby would look like with both of your features! So adorable!"

"Jackie, please."

She continued to snicker. "I can't help it. It's so sweet."

Janna didn't return the laughter. Instead of a smile her face grew sullen. She didn't bother continuing to hide her frown or to keep up her own act. She got serious.

"I really kinda blew it, didn't I?"

"With Marco? No… I mean, Marco'll come around again. He's probably just really hurting right now. That means he really loves you, you know?"

"No. I mean – yes – he loves me – but no, It has to be more than that. He wouldn't have left his car, not told anyone where he was going, and just disappear. I mean I know he sorta did that before when you two broke up, but it took a while to get to that point. And we all knew where he was. He didn't try to hide himself when he hermited away."

"I would say to give him some space, but it does feel like it's been a long enough time already, even for Diaz. You guys didn't exactly have an argument to set him off, plus he left a plate full of nachos… " She drifted off while thinking.

"I thought he'd come home that night. I wanted to at least talk about things."

"It is what Marco does do well," Jackie admitted.

"Excuse me," Chloe interjected. "I do not know zis Marco but I can see he means a lot to you both, yes?"

Janna listened a little harder to Chloe's words due to the accent, nodding along.

"Zen, perhaps I can help you to find him?"

"But how?"

"Vell, back in France ve study many kinds of things that are, how you say... spiritual? We do not only do great parkour! I vas studying also how to remote view places and people vith ze power of ze mind. Have you heard of zis?"

Janna's eyes bulged, intrigued and enlivened at the mention of something so esoteric and occultic. An immediate sense of camaraderie kicked in, the same familiarity one would find while joining a like-minded group of super mega fans surrounding a particular fantasy game or genre of movies. She felt that Chloe was likewise a part of a deeper, secret type of learning that few ever wanted to dabble in, and it excited her to find a fellow practitioner of the new age arts.

"I've definitely heard of it!" she said, "Buuuut it takes a _huge _amount of discipline. I've tried a few times but could never get out of my body to have the full out of body experience. Best try I had I think I was only a few inches outside my body when I suddenly snapped back in! My entire body jumped about a foot in the air and I almost rolled off the bed!"

Jackie was dumbfounded as she sat there watching as the two girls exchanged rapid-fire stories and just as animated hand motions. Seeing them, to her, was almost akin to watching a comedy show on tv that dealt with a bunch of cool-but-still-nerds living together in an apartment complex while attending a university. She got the jokes but it was all so unreal, trying to figure out exactly what they were talking about.

"I understand the words you're saying, but I'm sorta lost on the whole out-of-body thing."

"Relax, Jackie," Janna replied. "Think of it like turning yourself into a surveillance camera that's impossible to see and that can travel all around the entire world in the blink of an eye."

"You're being serious?"

She scoffed, "Yeah. Why else did the government run secret programs with the men in black dealing with telekinetics and psychics and stuff back in the seventies?"

"Uhm, I had no idea."

"I'll have to give you a history lesson some time."

Chloe placed her hand on Jackie's arm. "It is real but it is also not easy, but I have done it a few times myself. Only problem for me to try is I do not know vhat Marco looks like. I'd need to see a photo to help try to remote view him."

"A photo? That I can handle," Jackie said with relief, uncrossing her legs and getting up to scan the walls of the living room.

There were so many photos from large portraits with decorative shell frames to small tiny instant photos hanging on twine by small clips, strung like banners on the walls, and every other size in-between. Some were even attached to a cork bulletin board by thumb tacks.

She plucked one of the photos from the cork board and paused a moment while looking it over. A blush and nostalgic smiles crossed her face.

"This one should do."

Jackie handed the photo to Chloe and once again took her seat. "Is it good enough to use?" she asked.

Chloe looked over the photo. It was taken at a beach, with Jackie having covered Marco's whole body in sand up to his neck. She had used a piece of driftwood to draw fish scales all over him and placed two large abalone shells on his chest, turning Marco into a mermaid. His brown hair was covered in seaweed and sand but his smile showed through it all, and she studied his face hard. She made sure to memorize it as much as possible, right down to the mole on his cheek.

"Ah, zis is good to use. It vill verk."

She grabbed Janna and Jackie's hands and told them to do the same with each other, making one linked circle.

Concerned, Jackie gripped Chloe's hand tighter, bringing it to her lap. "This isn't dangerous for you is it?"

With a soft flutter of her eyes, Chloe dipped her head with a glowing blush. "Jaaackie, it's okay, I promise. Now, I vill try to view your friend but you must both be very quiet. Keep thinking of Marco's face viz positive energy and imagine channeling that energy through your hands to me. I'll see vhat I can see."

Janna instantly complied and went into a deep zen-like meditation without effort, while Jackie looked at both of the concentrating women a few seconds more before shrugging to herself and settling in. She closed her own eyes with a few deepened breaths and decided to give it her best effort, for Marco's sake.

"W-who-oa!" Stammer-shouted Marco, backing up against the bed railing while facing the woman optimistically glaring him down. His hand swept air and he had to re-balance himself so as not to fall off the side of the bed and onto the mechanical robot arm-scanner. His jaw was agape, gawking at the very notion of what she'd just mentioned. "That is NOT something I'm willing to do!"

"Of course that would be your immediate response," she cooed slyly. "Now, take a minute to breathe and think it over."

"I don't think it requires a lot of thought to know that I'm not just going to sleep with some woman I don't even know – that KIDNAPPED me and… and… isn't even human apparently!"

Amber gave a small, snide chuckle. "Mr. Diaz, what do you take me for? I don't want to sleep with you, however fun might that be. I'm a professional molecular and aetherological biologist. I do not require much from you but an additional DNA sample."

"Aether-oh-logic what?" He shook his head sharply. "N-no. You can't use me as your…" he paused mid-sentence, disgust overtaking his features. His mouth gasped while his tongue curled back. "Well, you know _what_! I'm not _that_!"

"I don't intend to use you, please don't look at it that way. This is an adult conversation, Mr. Diaz."

"How else am I supposed to look at it? Also, stop calling me 'Mr. Diaz.' Honestly I'm shocked you're even bothering to ask me."

"Why do you say that?"

"Uh, YOU kidnapped ME. You could've just taken my DNA at any time."

"Oh believe me, we already have."

"Wait, what!?"

"We've taken all of the samples we could gather from you while you were unconscious. Not just blood work."

His rage began to build, a shiver of it entering his voice. "If you've done that to me already, then why are you asking me now!?"

"Lower your voice and lets talk without emotion ruling over our judgments first, agreed?"

Marco visibly clenched his teeth and glowered her way like an irate chained dog.

Amber continued. "Marco, I work for the agency to try and find a cure, so to speak, for our fertility crisis. Certain individuals are promising for our studies, and again you were flagged because of, well, we don't need to rehash all that. But, my agency is nothing if not very keen on keeping track of every detail; that means every one of our marks that we track such as yourself, to the little things like our vials for DNA. No medical supply goes uncatalogued. Every test we take is monitored and recorded and then sent directly to the higher ups."

He snarled. "So?"

"So," she pushed her glasses up the bridge of her nose, standing and turning her back towards him as she spoke, "that means I can't use any of the samples we took from you. It also means that if you agree to this proposal we need to be a little creative."

She discreetly pulled a small plastic-looking cup from her lab coat while not facing any of the active monitors. Her male cohort was also busy making a lot of clacking noises moving objects around his table and acting busy, at the same time working the screens as if trying to intentionally make the transmissions garbled.

Marco recognized the cup. It was one of the most common sterile cups used in doctor offices: a white screw-on lid and foggy exterior were unmistakable. It was commonly used to take urine samples.

"You've got to be joking," he said.

"I managed to borrow this while dealing with another mark inside a small no-name clinic. It's sterile and untraceable by my people."

"You don't '_borrow_' pee cups."

"It was a nicer way of putting it."

He uneasily asked. "You don't want a urine sample, do you?"

"Mr. Diaz-"

"I'm not using that cup."

She slid it back into her coat pocket and rounded on him again, keeping her voice gentle and placative.

"Marco, I understand the position you're in."

"Oh, do you? It seems like I'm the one prisoner here and not you but go ahead… humor me."

She slowly took her seat next to his bedside. "I know you've wanted children."

He slightly bit his lower lip, unprepared for her words that bit him harder inside than his teeth currently were to his skin.

"I know you dream of expanding your bloodline, to continue your family and raise a child that you get to shape the identity of. You've wanted it so much you were willing to fight hard enough you broke your first true relationship with it."

"Stop it. Just stop using whatever you know about me to fuel your arguments. It won't work." But even he was beginning to doubt.

"You felt destroyed inside. That is how I feel too. I'm a woman that will quite possibly never have a baby of my own. So you see, we are more alike than you realize. I'm fighting with you for my own personal dream."

"Why don't you steal a sample from the agency. You expect me to believe they will notice if a little bit of a sample is less than another sample?"

"The agency is not like your government, Mr. Diaz. Oversight is not a thing that goes unpunished."

"If it's that bad then why work for these people? Leave or fight back."

She furrowed her brow. "I chose to work for them because I believe in their cause. The aim is to help all of my people as a species, not just be self-serving. I deny myself not just for my own safety but I know the goal is greater than my wants alone. There are countless women right now in my position."

Marco turned away, still angry with her but somewhat acquiescing to her predicament, if it really was true. He wanted to stay furious and use that heat against her, but when he peeked back in her direction he realized she had nothing to lose by telling him the truth.

"But I want to raise my own baby. That's part of why I want kids."

"Your child would be raised well with me. It would want for nothing."

"You're an alien. I'd never see you again, right? I mean… you're still going to make me forget?"

There was more overly loud button pressing and monitor noise coming from her partner's direction, but their eyes were both locked onto each other.

Amber nodded slowly, realizing that his voice had changed its tone despite himself. She felt she could convince him to her aims. "You know I must."

"But then I'd never know I had a child. I'd never see her or him. I'd be back where I began."

"But you'd be making that choice here and now, while conscious and knowing. And, Marco, with the way you left your current girlfriend, and with what she said, what if this is your only chance to have a child?"

The rage was replaced with a tremendous empty hurt that spread out within his chest like a bleed that couldn't be stopped, a wound unable to be cauterized, even by fire. He swallowed, blinking hard, mulling so many thoughts over in his mind at once, the painful memories of his past like recurrent gnashing teeth. Reminded of his loneliness made his personal demons stir to the surface.

"Why are you asking me, when you can just… take it from me when I'm out? When you've taken away my memory?"

"I'm not your torture master. I respect you for who you are and give you a choice even if it goes against mine. I don't see you as a lesser being. You are kind; I would be no better than most of your rather selfish species to do anything less than offer a choice."

"And you're asking me _specifically _because… ?"

"Because, Marco, you're intelligent. You're physically fit and strong. Healthy. Solid genes." She waited a moment, then added. "Plus, you're easy on the eyes."

His brown eyes quivered, pupils shrinking slightly, nervously, unsure how to respond as he drank all of her emotions in that he could read in her body language and voice. As much as he wanted to hate her to help use it against her in some way to escape, he couldn't.

"I uhm… can you give me a minute?"

She tilted her head and gave him a tender beam of affection. She had shed her former, down-to-business self, and risked bearing all to a total stranger, and hoped a dream would come true.

"Well there isn't much personal space in here but, we'll be over by the deprivation tank." She idly slipped the cup into his hands and gave her head a quick twist to inform her partner to join her. "Turn on the tank's cleaning system, would you?" she said to him as he got near. "Marco? You have total privacy, whatever you decide, for the next ten minutes."

The man pulled a thick lever and the deprivation tank that Marco had once been in slid closed, nozzles at the top spraying hard water down into the cavern. The noise was surprisingly echoey and filled the fabric-less room with noise.

He looked down at the cup in his hand, staring at it for almost half of the time he was allotted. He considered that it could be the last chance he'd get to reach his dream, even if he'd never remember it. And if he didn't remember it, he figured, why would he care?

The sprays fanned water in circular motions around the inside of the tank like. Amber and her partner watched it like going through a car wash. Once, she looked at her partner, who returned her glance and shrugged hopefully, and she smiled in return. "Thanks for this," she whispered.

"Don't. It's still a risky deal. What will we explain to the agency when one of their own turns up pregnant? I mean, if you even can? The genes have never directly mixed er… like this."

"I'll handle it."

The water of the tank began to gurgle, a new spray of pinkish fluid raining down along the inside to decontaminate. Marco had spun the lid of the cup off and his eyes were closed. He inhaled deeply, then opened his eyes again to stare into the cup.

He thought about Jackie, and Janna, and wondered what the use was in fighting.

He looked behind him, the two lab coated strangers talking amongst themselves though the sound of the tank cleaning drowned them out. He looked at the walls of tech he didn't recognise, and the monitors that displayed himself staring back, the lights reflecting off the computer keypads and buttons, sorted unused vials and medical equipment. Then his eyes looked once again at the singular doorway of possible escape, and the palm pad next to it.

The cup in his hands called to him on a deep personal level, tempting him nearly to the breaking point. But in one swift motion he tossed the cup and leapt up from the bed, vaulting over the side. His feet were already in a sprint as soon as the soles of his shoes touched the floor.

He raced to the door in under a second, slapping his palm onto the pad and hoping silently to himself that the woman had been lying, or that some code might pop up on the small screen that he could use to gain access.

But nothing happened at all except for a computerized bleep, the sound of which he could tell meant only denial.

As he panted, he could hear the two other people in the room walk up behind him. He allowed it, his forehead knocking against the door that kept him from his freedom. He had fully expected they would manhandle him, grab him and restrain him again with the blue bands, or even worse, but they didn't lay a finger on him.

He waited for what felt like minutes. They spoke not a word. Once he collected himself, he turned around slowly.

The woman and the man stood before him, unconcerned.

"Genetic access restriction. Not for humans," the man said dryly.

"I gathered that but I had to take the chance," he retorted.

When he looked at Amber he finally noticed that in her hand was pointing a small gun-like device, directed at him. It was tiny, barely larger than her palm. He steadily rose his hands up.

"Wait-"

"I am so disappointed, Mr. Diaz - Marco. I really thought we could come together on this."

"Let's talk first, OK?"

She leaned her neck back, her eyebrows lifting in an expression of remorse. "Oh Marco, the time for talking has passed. You've made your choice, now I have to make mine."

He saw a flick of her wrist. He moved to block but there was a bright purple light. A zip sound fizzled in the air. He shouted, but it didn't stop the tiny bead-like bullet that fired.

Janna, Jackie, and Chloe were sitting with their hands linked for what seemed to Jackie like over an hour, maybe more. She became acutely away of her tailbone aching from sitting too long frozen in one spot. The sun was setting outside, casting a rich warm orange light through the windows.

Janna held an intense internal focus, her mind hearing Marco's laughter and his jokes, his impetuous optimism and love of snacking on nacho chips. She tried not to replay their last talk again in her mind but she instead thought about the ring, which she had brought with her in her pocket, tied with small string to the little owl stone carving.

She heard Marco's voice in her mind, telling her she'd make a great mother. She could almost feel his arms embrace her as she explained about the totem animal carvings. The more she heard him whisper it in her ear, the more she started to believe it, even desire it, out of herself.

Jackie opened her eyes to watch Chloe. She wondered how much longer it would take, and if it would be successful... or was even truly real. Chloe looked like she was meditating as hard as Janna, like two monks up on some misty mountaintop somewhere. She didn't know how she could tell if Chloe was having an out of body experience or how her body didn't just not fall over in sleep. All she could discern were her eyes moving rapidly back and forth beneath her eyelids.

She awkwardly resumed her uncomfortable sit between the two while trying to adjust her legs, without breaking their hand chain or causing a break to their concentration.

She had just started to slip into a sleepy, trance-like state when Chloe jumped, drawing back both her hands. Every part of her went alert all at once like a rabbit hearing the snap of a twig. Her breathing went faster as she hurried to explain.

"I have seen him!" she shouted. "He is vearing a red hoodie, yes?"

"You were able to find him?!" Janna excitedly replied. "Yes, he put that on when he left!" She hung on every word Chloe was about to say.

"He is in a park, or, how do you say - a forest? Yes!"

"Is he okay?! What forest?! Where?!"

"Ah, I seen a fountain and a building like a hotel very nearby. Not many other landmarks around. Uhm, a store where you buy medications too."

"Did the building have a statue of an opossum out front and the fountain have cement benches around it?!"

"Yes, yes!" she confirmed.

"That's Echo Creek Lodge!"

Jackie looked to Janna while Janna did the same. They both spoke at once. "The forest preserve!"

"But ve must hurry! There is a problem," worried Chloe. "Marco is on ze ground!"

"Oh no!" Janna tried to reel in her panic as she hoisted herself off the pillow. The other two women joined her.

Jackie grabbed for Janna's arm. "We're coming with you."

The trio rushed from the house and piled into Janna's car. It took her two tries to fit the key into the ignition slot to get the vehicle started, her nerves were so wild. She put the car in gear and tried not to be too heavy-footed on the pedal as she thought about which road was the fastest to take to the park. Catching every single red light along the way was making them all lose their minds.

As a distraction, Janna kept trying to pull more information out of Chloe.

"What happened as soon as you got out?"

"It took me a vile. I vas afraid I vans't going to accomplish it but then finally I felt my spirit lift and I vas free. Janna, you must try zis sometime. It is a very good feeling, almost as doing a perfect backflip."

"And then?"

"Once I vas outside of my body I pictured Marco, and vith your help I vas able to focus harder. I saw his face, and then I saw ze trees all around."

"Did he look okay?"

"Zat is the problem. I cannot tell why he is on ze ground but he vas not avake. I checked the area all around for ze landmarks to know where he vas, then I voke up to tell you both."

"Was anyone else around him?" Jackie asked.

"No, he vas alone. I am sure he is zere right now."

The car bucked as a red light turned green and Janna's foot pressed down fast. The tires gripped the road and launched them forward with the power of far too much horses than the speed limit would allow for.

"Whoa Janna, chillax! I wanna find Marco too but we'll get pulled over!" Jackie made sure her seat belt was still intact.

"Sorry, I just… " she trailed off, biting her lip closed.

Jackie's hand touched her shoulder. "It'll be OK. We'll make it."

"Was Marco… alive, Chloe?"

"I am so sorry, Janna. I could not tell zis."

They painstakingly made their way through the town of Echo Creek, the sun dipping against the horizon, every stop light ironically mocking them. Finally, they arrived at the Echo Creek Lodge, pulling into the first available parking space.

All three of them jumped out of the car and headed for the rear of the Lodge. Beyond the combined rear parking lots of the Lodge and the local convenience store was a prairie that opened up to a forest preserve.

"Which way do we go?" Asked Jackie.

Chloe shook her head and shrugged, doing a leap over a chain which kept the area closed off to walkers and joggers. It was not the kind of recreational park opened up for the masses to use. A small, rusty sign noted 'No Trespassing.'

"Vioala!" she smirked.

Jackie followed suit while Janna merely lifted the chain and ducked underneath it, knocking the sign right off its weak connection points. "Heh, oops."

Once they had all crossed they crept through the brush where the forest wasn't as closed in with debris. Janna was in the lead, almost sure of where she was headed.

"Janna! Do you see him?" Jackie called out.

"No. But I feel something. I can't explain it, just follow!" She felt for the ring in her pocket, fingering the small stone owl.

The moon was being uncovered fast, the sky darkening with twilight. Janna knew it was a good omen, letting her spirit lead the way. Even though dusk was falling and they would all soon lose crucial daylight, for the first time since she left her apartment she felt more upbeat and assured than ever before.

She squeezed her hand around the owl.

They didn't get far into the forest before she spotted a telltale pile of red.

"Marco!"

She was first to his side, pushing away bramble bushes and getting small cuts from the thorns. She reached Marco with a gasp and rolled him onto his back, immediately checking for his breathing.

He moaned, and she laughed in relief.

"Diaz!" Jackie knelt down and looked him over, then helped Janna to lift him into a sitting position.

It took Marco some moments to regain full consciousness, mumbling incoherently and swaying as he tried to stay upright with their help.

Once he managed to stabilize, he opened his eyes fully, first taking in Janna's face, and then the other two women.

"J-Janna? Ja-Jackie?"

"Marco, you're safe! What happened!?" Janna enfolded him in her arms. "Why didn't you come back home?"

"Back home?" His head whirled around suddenly, his stomach lurching. He fell onto his elbow and wretched for a moment, vomiting up a mess of purple and yellow.

"I-I'm sorry," he said. "I… don't know what happened. I… I got upset and left, but, where am I now?" He looked around, seeing trees and grass. "Where a-am I?"

"Are you OK?" Jackie asked, touching his forehead. When she moved his bangs out of the way she saw a dark bruise. "You look like you got hit really hard. Did you get mugged? Does this hurt?" She pressed the spot slightly.

"No," he said. "I don't feel anything."

She pressed slightly harder. "How about now?"

"No, nothing. Stop it."

"And you don't remember anything since you left?" Janna asked.

"I… " he tried to think but came up blank. "I guess I don't, except maybe bright light. Does that count?"

"Not unless you got hit by a car."

"I don't feel any pain, but I don't remember."

"Wow! Well whatever happened you must have hit your head pretty bad. Marco, you've been missing for days!"

"D-DAYS?!" he winced. "I only just left the house! I haven't been out here th-that long!"

Chloe knelt down next to Jackie. "Ve should take him to ze hospital to check his head. He might have a concussion."

"No-No, I feel fine, honest," he said, right before hurling again.

"Look, we take you to the emergency room first just to check you out," Janna said. "We'll go straight home afterwards." She shrugged and took on her standard cool demeanor in an effort to appease him, though she was more concerned than she let on.

The women lifted Marco carefully, both of his arms draped over their shoulders. He stumbled between them, taking baby steps, slowly regathering his wits. He looked dreamily up towards Janna. "You brought Jackie and… and her friend, and… came to look for me?"

"Duh," she snarkily said.

"I'm sorry I left like that."

"We can talk about that later."

"If you don't want to get married-"

"Marco!" she shouted, Chloe helping to get his feet over the chain fence, "Just quit. I came looking for you to tell you yes."

"Y-you're saying yes?"

She rolled her eyes, the light of the day newly turned to night. The light of the moon gently played in her eyes and over the smile revealing her teeth. "Yes, Marco."

"And… " he bagan but she shushed him.

"And even all the rest."

Jackie clicked her tongue. "Classic Diaz." She gave a relieved laugh and the other girls joined in.

"And all the rest," he repeated to himself.

They loaded Marco into the car and Janna gave Jackie the keys to drive, taking the back seat with Marco.

"Try to stay awake." advised Janna. "Just in case you do have a concussion. Oh, and if you have to throw up again, please let me know right away. I don't want that all over my car."

"Noted," he sighed, leaning his head down onto her shoulder and trying to make a joke. "I'll at least try not to sleep."

Janna made a miffed noise.

Contrary to their first trip, they managed to get mainly green lights while driving back through Echo Creek, heading for the hospital. Everyone was quiet for a while, the hum of the car a soothing drone, like a promise that things would return to normal.

Janna placed the small stone owl in his hand. "Do you remember this?"

"The owl stone? Yeah. Why'd you bring it?"

"It's your totem, Marco. You're linked with the moon. I swear it helped us find you. It must've really liked those nacho chips."

He took her hand and squeezed it.

Without saying anything more, she did the same.

Janna's car drove into the emergency parking lot of Echo Creek's hospital, the vehicle being tracked by two pairs of observing eyes. A familiar van was parked in the lot.

"You needn't worry. The array was off the generic wipe setting when I handed it to you," the man muttered to his associate. "I dialed it back."

She slid her glasses down. "Mark this moment. For once I am grateful you decided to take a more _customized _approach. But why did you do that for me?"

"I know you really wanted it to work out. Even though it didn't, I know you'd have regretted causing him any lasting issues. I'm not totally an asshole."

She raised a brow at him. After he noticed her look, she smiled. "So, what did you do to cover up?"

"Ah, just a basic cocktail. A little false bruising here, a bit of upset stomach there. He'll be back to himself by morning and they'll presume amnesia due to that noggin. Plus, our people inside will make sure they all get back to daily life as soon as possible."

"So, what now?"

He quirked his own brow. "I would ask you the same. After what happened, do you still want to track this mark?"

Amber thought about it, then said. "Yes. I still care enough to see our orders through, and how this all ends. Don't make it personal, right?"

"It's what I said all along."

"Until next time."

He grumbled aloud, throwing his hands into the air.

Janna wore Marco's pentagram ring while he kept the small owl strung on a pendant around his neck. After what took place in the hospital, they decided to marry spur-of-the-moment that weekend once he was back to himself, his condition dismissed as a temporary amnesia brought on by an undisclosed hit to the head, though no fracture or concussion, or inflammation of any kind was discovered.

Jackie and her girlfriend; Alfonso; and Ferguson's family all attended the quiet and quick legal non-ceremony, serving as witness to their union. Shortly thereafter, there appeared to be another indicator of such, Janna's belly starting to become larger within the ensuing months.

Janna often chided Marco for his eagerness at seeing the baby, but in her own alone time she placed a hand to herself to feel the small kicks now and again, wistfully imagining how it would change their lives, and how cool it would be to grow a minion, what it would look like. She knew Marco was going to make the best father, and she couldn't deny it, and was hoping that his enthusiasm would make up for some of the courage in the matter that she lacked at times.

Together they would make it work, and Marco was beyond overjoyed. He could understand, now, how his mother and father were so elated when they raved about raising him up, and eager to relive the experience again with their soon-to-come grandchild.

One day Janna was feeling tired so retreated to the bedroom to take a nap. She had gotten bigger, well into her later months, and every day energy was easily snapped up and drained doing usual tasks. The baby's room was prepared in a nighttime theme with owls and other night creatures, and Janna wouldn't rest easy until she had added in the last touches: extra diapers, a pile of burpy cloths, the eyeball baby monitor, and baby-to-be's first plush toy - a purple dragon with yellow horns.

Marco had set down a popcorn bowl, ready to veg-out while watching an anime series, when there came a knock on the door.

He paused the television and hurried over, wiping his hands on his pant legs before grabbing the knob and opening the door.

There before him was a woman, standing there with long blond hair flowing down over her shoulders, her blue eyes like sapphires glistening as they met his gaze. Her voice seemed familiar though he didn't think he'd ever met her before.

She held the hand of a young, almost teen child at her side with hair the same color as his own.

"Hi, Marco," she nervously said.

**Chapter 7 was written by SledgePainter.**


End file.
